Friends Forever
by The wander
Summary: Willow makes a wish and Faith gets a new childhood friend.
1. Chapter 1

This for fun and dont own anything but this computer. enjoy

Willow just made it to the bathroom, before the tears came. She was almost screaming with rage and frustration.

That skank had slept with Xander! HER Xander.

He was hers, even if they had never really dated. Oh sure, they had been out together – as friends. But nothing serious. And the fact that she had Oz in her life didn't matter.

She had always wanted Xander - for him to be the center of her life.

Now she knew that she wasn't going to happen. He had found someone else. Xander didn't do casual. He was a lifer. Or at least there for the long run. Or for as long as the girl let him stay.

It had taken her forever to break him and Cordy up. And in the process, she almost lost her Oz. But it had been worth it. Now she had her boyfriend, her best guy-friend and best girlfriend. She would never be alone again.

Well, at least 'til the skank showed up. While she would not have minded Buffy getting him, Faith was another story.

Her tears finally giving out, her mind took a dark turn. And as her mind got darker and darker, she started to mutter to herself.

"Damn bitch. She just flew in here. With her legs wide open." Willow was ranting loudly, not hearing the restroom door opening.

"Tried to take Buffy from me, then Xander. She's got her own Watcher. She's got everything. She's even gone over to the other side, and what does everyone want to do? Bring her back."

Willow was quite for a moment.

"Xander wants her so bad. Well, he can have her."

Opening the door to the stall, Willow looked around and saw there was no one there. Walking up the sinks, she ran some cold water and started scrub her face, but what happened between Faith and Xander just wouldn't leave her alone.

She could see them together. They would be all laughing and with the smooches. She just knew that Xander would leave for her. Leave her alone.

Looking once again into the mirror.

"I wish that skank knew what if felt like to be the one that lost him," Willow snarled into the mirror. "Hell, I wish that Xander had never moved to Sunnydale."

Willow turned and started to walk out of the restroom, only to stop when she noticed a shadow. The shadow smiled, and then from the darkness, Willow heard a grave voice call out, Granted.

And the universe changed.

Boston

Faith sat scowling at the teacher. Ms. Mardan.

The second grade teacher had called her mom a name, after Faith had explained why once again she didn't have a clean dress this week.

Karen had made fun of the dress this morning and Faith, being Faith, had punched her in the nose. The bleeding had stopped so she didn't know why she was in the office. She had been hit harder than that by her mom's last boyfriend and Faith hadn't cried like Karen had.

Ms. Mardan was on the phone with her mom. And she was getting louder with each word. Faith knew her mom wouldn't come down to the school, not for this. It was still too early to get out of bed.

As she sat there, another kid was dragged in. The boy was about her age with dark hair that was a little on the long side.

Not that Faith liked boys. They were dirty, and only wanted to look up her dress. Why, she had no ideal. Why did seven years old boys do anything?

She watched as the boy's parents filled out the paper work that would get him started at the school.

"Hey," The boy said looking at her. "My name's Alexander."

"Faith," Faith told the boy. New kid, she thought, but for once she didn't say anything. The way the boy looked at his parents reminded her of the way she felt about her mom. She loved her, but didn't trust her.

"Faith!" Ms. Mardan said sharply. "No talking! You're in enough trouble as is."

Faith scowled again at the teacher before turning to the wide-eyed boy who was pulling back from her.

He didn't want to be trouble before school started and didn't want the girl to be in trouble for just talking to him. He had just moved all the way across the country. He had been living in L.A. His dad had a job offer with the company his uncle worked at in Sunnydale, but he took this one. It was a new start, and hopefully the Harris luck wouldn't follow them here.

Alexander's day sucked and it wasn't getting any better.

At first it was going fine - Alexander had made friends, with the MacManus brothers, and Donnell brothers. But within a day, he had gotten into more trouble with those boys than he had in the last seven years of his life.

And all the while the dark-haired girl was watching him.

End part one.


	2. Chapter 2

Friends forever two

The friendship that was Faith and Alexander got off to a rocky start. She really didn"t care about the boy (he was just a boy, after all) and the boy was so worried about getting in trouble around the girl that he hadn't really open up to her. 

It had been a long three months.

Alexander and Faith slowly opened up to each other at school. Due to the fact their grades were at the same level, they had been placed in the same class. And in class, at least, they had become close. Most of the others in the class snubbed them. Most were from well-to-do neighborhoods. So their friendship was formed on the fact that they had no one else to play with or talk to at school.

Faith sat looking at the walls in her bed room. It was close to midnight and she still could hear her mom and her new boyfriend going at it - whatever "it" was. She knew what sex was – she had heard and seen enough in her short life to understand it. Well, at least understand the physical side of it. She knew it made her mom feel good, despite all the moans she made while doing it. One time, she had even heard her mom scream out, and call for her boyfriend to do it harder.

It just didn't make sense to the eight-year-old girl. She had just had her birthday last week and not one person had remembered it. She had had a private party for herself that day. Stealing some money from her mom, she had snuck out to the corner store and gotten herself some candy and chocolate milk. It had been the best day she had had in a long time, even after she had gotten in trouble and punished for it. But who couldn"t take hit every now and then?

Just then, her mom let out a long moan, followed by some gasping, and Joe, or John, whatever his name was let out a long grunting sound following her mom.

That was it!

Faith pulled her blanket from her bed and moved out on her fire escape. She had slept on it more than once and never had a problem. Well, there was that one time someone had climbed up, but she had heard him before he had gotten to her level and had moved back into her room.

The guy's eyes still bothered her – they'd been yellow. Who had yellow eyes? But he had moved on when she wouldn't open the window. After that, Faith would sleep lightly out there, her body attuned to any changes in sound or the slightest shake of the metal rails.

Across from her building was Alexander's. She watched as the new boy had sat with his mom doing homework – something that Faith's mom hadn't ever done with her. She had silently wished she could talk and do things with her mom the way it looked like Alexander's mom was doing with him.

At least, 'til Alexander's dad had gotten home. She'd watched him stumble into the room. And almost as soon as he was in, he was yelling at the boy, and then his mom. She watched as Alexander tried to stand up to his father, only to get a knock upside his head for his troubles.

And Faith watched it all. After that Faith didn't really want to have the boys life so much.

School wasn't fun for either of the kids. While both were intelligent, the class work just wouldn't stick. And because of their grades, they were always paired off together.

"Stop it," Faith snapped at the boy after three days of staring at her. 

"What?" Alexander said, snapping his eyes away from the girl. 

"You keep looking at me like I'm going to hurt you," Faith said. She had seen the look on his face while watching his father the night before and it bothered her.

"Am not," Alexander finally said. "You just cause so much trouble I don't want to be caught up in it. My dad will get mad."

"Don't worry," Faith said with a smirk, "You're not worth getting in trouble with. You'd just run away."

"Would not." Alexander said slightly offended that someone would think he was a coward. "I stick with my friends."

"So I'm your friend?" Faith asked kind of shocked she didn't have many friends. And of those, most would just run and let her take the punishment.

"Well … I guess so. You talk to me," Alexander said, looking around the class room. It wasn't that the others in the class didn't like the boy, but he was the new kid, so on the outside of a lot.

"Well," Faith added after a moment of thought. "Your name's too long. And since I already have a friend named Alex, I think your new name should be Xander."

"Alex is my name." The boy protested. How could she just change his name like that?

"You new name is Xander." Faith said firmly, "or I could call you something else."

Xander took one look at her face and knew he wouldn't like what other name she picked out for him. He already had heard some of the names that she called the others in the class. And since he knew it was more than likely that they would be spending a lot time together, he just gave in.

"All right," Xander said finally, " I'll be Xander. But you have to let meet Alex. I should at least meet him."

"Silly," Faith said with a smile. "Alex is a girl, and she's invisible." The young girl said that like it all made perfect sense.

The newly christened 'Xander' sat back, looking at the girl. He crossed his arms and thought.

This is girl logic? the boy thought, I just don't understand.

For Xander, the rest of the day was more of the same. Faith took a delight in calling him Xander in front of everyone. And by the time school let out, the other students started to call him by that name, as well as most of the teachers.

Three days laterIt was Saturday. His father was gone for the weekend. Tony had one weekend a month where he had to drive up to New York, to pick up a shipment for the warehouse he worked in. So this day was a special one. Xander could sleep in, then watch cartoons 'til he felt like going out, which wouldn't be until later.

It was close to noon when Xander finally came out of his room. Walking slowly to the living room, still in his PJ"s flipped on the tv and flopped onto the couch.

"Scooby, huh?" A very familiar voice said from behind him. "I had pegged you for a Star Wars kind of man."

Slowly, oh so slowly, Xander pulled himself up to look over the back of the couch, and there she was. Standing with his mom while both of the females were grinning.

Faith.

Faith who was looking closely at his Scooby-doo PJs, all the while she was smirking at him. With an eep, Xander slowly sank back out of sight of the women, looking at the tv in the hopes that he would find the answer to his problem there.

Not seeing anything other than Lion-o calling the other Thundercats to him, Xander took a deep breath and did what most boys his age would do when a girl saw them in their PJs.

He ran.

As Xander slammed his bedroom door close, he could hear his mom as she laughed and Faith joining in with her.

"Could my life suck any more?" Xander asked himself looking up, "You just like to torment me? Don't you?" 

After he dressed, he eased out of his bedroom. There on the couch was Faith. Eating HIS Twinkies. The ones he had beg for every week. HIS Saturday morning treat.

He looked at his mom. His Mom was the only person other that knew where they were hidden. He had to hide them because his dad didn't want him to have them. He said they rotted his teeth.

"Mom?" He asked his eyes wide. And a little hurt. 

"She's a guest." Jessica said, smiling at her son. 

"Not mine." Xander mumbled looking away. Only to get a smack on the head telling him that she had heard him.

Faith just grinned at him. Crumbs and filling from HIS treat all around her mouth. 

"What are you doing here?" Xander finally said sharply. Only to get another smack on his head for his troubles. 

"Can't I visit my best friend?"Faith asked sweetly. 

"Yes," Xander said looking at her crossly. "So why are you here?" 

"Silly," Faith said smiling some more. This was so fun. Someone to stand up to her, and not call her names or make fun of her, punch her. "You're my best friend." 

"Dowhatnow?" Xander asked rushing it. 

"Xander," Faith said looking around the room as Xander's mom left the room walking into the kitchen. , "I just want to come see you. You said you're my friend. But if you want I'll leave." Then she continued on with a harder voice, "I can go home and not be wanted there. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Don't go." Xander said quickly, "I mean… You can stay. If you want too."

Xander paused, now where did that come from? 

"Ok," Faith relief was obvious in her voice. She didn't really have that many friends. Just some girls at school. And a few boys that looked at her funny. She never went to any of their homes, and there was no way she would bring them home. She had watched Xander with his mom for days, and knew this would be a safe place, at least as long as his dad was away.

As the weeks rolled by, Faith and Xander grew closer.

A month after her first visit to the Harris home, Faith came back. It was the middle of the night. Her mom had another new boyfriend over. The guy had hung around a few days. And he would look at her funny before going to bed with her mom. She could hear them doing things. The first time she had heard her mom doing those things, she had thought it hurt her. But after a while, she knew her mom liked it.

Faith couldn't understand how having a guy touch you down there, and that way would make you feel good. As she lay in her bed, she noticed the noises had stopped in her mom's room. Signing and snuggling under her bed covers for warmth, Faith settled down. She was glad that they had quieted down, 'cause it had snowed that morning and it would be a cold night if she had to sleep on the fire escape again.

She was just starting to doze off when she heard her bedroom door open.

Catching her breath, she heard someone walk into her room. She closed her eyes tight, and lay as still as she could, but jerked when she felt a large hand on her hip tugging at the covers. It was HIM.

Faith was scared, more than anytime in her life. She looked up at him, and quickly closed her eyes as he was nude. His thing-y was sticking out.

Faith wanted to be anywhere but here. 

She felt his hand slide across her, cupping her bottom. Faith froze; she just couldn't move.

Then a face appeared in him mind: Xander. He would protect her. She just needed to go to him.

NOW! 

Faith kicked out blindly. She felt her foot come in contact with the guy's thing-y, then to the sack hanging under it. The eight-year-old knew that it hurt boys to be hit there so she kicked it again, and again.

The man went down screaming and she ran. As she left the apartment, she could hear her mom cussing about the noise.

Faith ran through the cold streets of Boston at night. No one really paid attention to the little girl as she moved from one street to the next. When she got to Xander's building, she knew she couldn't get in threw the front door – you need to be let in by someone in the building unless you have a key. But she knew Xander's bed room had a fire escape on its window.

Faith ran up the cool steel steps on the fire escape 'til she got to Xander's room. Looking in, she could see him laid out in the room, A pile of comics on the floor beside his bed. He had his feet on his pillows with his head hanging off the side of the bed.

Faith tapped at Xander's window. At first he didn't move. He just lay there, then he snorted as the sound started to get louder. Soon he was cracking one eye open to look around the room. He still didn't move on the off chance it was his dad looking for something. Soon he sat up and looked around the room, 'til he noticed Faith.

"What are you doing here?" Xander yawned as he opened the window.

"Can't a girl visit her best bud?" Faith asked as she wormed her way into the room.

"My dad will kill me if he finds someone in my room," Xander said in a hushed voice.

"No worries." Faith said with a smile climbing up on Xander's bed. "Just need a place to crash for a while. I'll be gone before he's up." And with that, Faith pulled Xander's covers up to her neck and settled down in the warm bed, leaving a speechless Xander staring at her.

Soon Faith flopped back over looking at Xander who hadn't moved since the girl got into his room.

"Well?" she asked looking at him with a raised eye brow.

"Well, What?" the eight-year-old boy said.

"You coming to bed?" Faith said with a smirk and patting the bed beside her, "I am cold and need something warm in here."

Xander was stunned. This girl had taken over his life: she stole his snacks, she changed his name. And now she had taken is bed.

But he knew if he called out his dad would show up. And he'd get all the blame.

"No wonder dad says women are nothing but trouble." Xander mumbled as he got into the bed. 

"You keep your girls' cooties away from me." 

"Xander… thanks." Faith said in a quiet voice.

She felt safe here. And she just knew that this boy wouldn't hurt here. He was her friend.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, causing him to wince and wipe his face. 

"Girl cooties," he said looking at her smiling face, as he, too, settled into a comfortable sleep with Faith snuggled up to his side.

Xander jumped one more time before he slipped into sleep.

"Cold feet," he mumbled.

And in the morning she was gone.

End part two


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at school.

Xander had just been snubbed again.

This time it was everyone doing it. It was snowing again outside so the class was let into the gym for P.E. And as soon as the kids had filed in, they had formed up into their little groups.

The Jocks were on one side playing Basketball. The nerds hit the stands and talked about the latest Terminator movie, A movie Xander still hadn't seen yet. But it was all the those guys could talk about.

Most of the girls had huddled up on the stands, talking about cheerleading tryout coming up. Three girls on the team had moved, and the team needed to fill the positions fast.

But what really bothered Xander the most was that Faith had been avoided him all day.

They shared the same class room, the same bus. Just about the whole day he was with her. And she still hadn't said anything to him today about last night.

He didn't know why she had came to his room last night, but knew it was a big deal. She had shown up and left with out a word of why. And in class, she had sat as far away from him as she could, and the bus ride was just as bad. The whole time she had talked to Murphy, and didn't let him have a word in with them. And whole time Murphy had given him a look.

He felt something with that look. Hurt. He guessed. May be a little jealous. He didn't know. Girls made his head hurt. The only one he had been real friends with was Faith and she was driving him up the walls.

Looking around the gym, he saw Faith standing off to one side of the gym. She was alone, and watching the other girls playing around, a look of longing on her face.

It obvious, at least to Xander, that she wanted to walk over to them. But he could almost see a wall between them. Who put it there he couldn't say but it was there all the same. Then there was the MacManus brothers fighting with the Donnellys again. It wasn't a knock down fight. YET. But it soon will be, and there was no way he was going home to explain that one to his dad. He had gotten in enough fights lately with those two.

So that left Faith, and she wasn't talking to him. So when dealing with women, you needed to man up as his dad had told him one time. He walked straight to the dark haired girl.

"Hey," Xander began, "what're you doing?"

"Nothing," Faith said and started to walk away from him. She looked around the gym to see if anyone was watching them. Finding no one watching, she slowed down. She really didn't want to walk away but he was a guy.

"What happened last night?" Xander asked, walking up to Faith.

"Nothing happened!" Faith yelled. Then, looking around to see who had heard her, she repeated in a harsh whisper, "Nothing. Happened."

"Come on you came over last night," Xander said looking at his feet as he dug his toe into the dirt, "What's up with that?"

"Nothing," Faith said forcefully, "Its meant nothing."

"Faithy," Xander said, "You're my friend aren't you? I am yours. You can tell me."

Faith turned to the boy, her eyes boring into his.

"How many have you told?"

"Told what?" Xander asked confused.

"That I slept in your bed?" Faith said after a quick look around.

"Yeah?" Xander said slowly. "You slept, I slept. We slept. Big deal."

Faith knew guys. She had heard her mom's boyfriend talking to their friends. Guys didn't want girls around after they slept with them. Her mom had said that all guys wanted to do was sleep with girls and once that happened, they changed.

"You're a guy," Faith said. As if that explained it all.

"Yeah," Xander his confusion evident in his voice, girl logic was still throwing him, "And you're a girl."

Faith almost growled at him.

"I know that!" she snapped at him.

"Then what's the dealy?" he asked.

"Guys change after sleeping with a girl," Faith explained, her eyes shone with hurt.

"Do what now?" Xander asked

"If a guy and girl sleeps together, it changes things."Faith explained. "My mom told me that once guys sleep with you they change." Faith almost sobbed.

"I didn't mean for us to sleep. But I was cold, and it just felt safe there."

"Girl logic," Xander said looking at his friend. "Nothing's changed. You're my friend and that will never change."

"You're… You're not going to leave now?" Faith asked. So many people had left Faith: her dad, friends, even her mom even though she still lived with her, she was gone from Faith's life. She couldn't stand if another person had walked out on her life.

"No, Faithy," Xander said.

And that was what really started their close friendship.

They had been close before that, but now it was closer. This new friendship was closer than any friendship that their young lives had had up to that point. Faith stepped up and pulled Xander into a hug.

A hug that didn't go unnoticed in the gym.

Three pairs of eyes saw it.

The first was their teacher, who smiled and thought 'young love,' and the innocence that it brings, and that both the kids needed someone.

The next was Murphy, and a jealous feeling ran over him, because he knew that the young girl that had talked to him all morning had liked him and that Xander was stealing his girl.

And finally there was Karen. She had never forgiven the dark haired girl for hitting her all those weeks ago, and she saw something that she could use to hurt Faith back.

Xander.

A week later.

Xander sat in front his dad. Outside the room, he could grunting and the sounds of blows. The Dojo master sat in front of both of them.

"Mr. Harris," Master Joe said looking between the two, "I don't teach kids to fight."

Master Joe looked down at the boy, whose face was covered in bruises and a nasty cut over his left eye had been stitched back together, the boy had came into the office with a limp as well.

"Man," Tony Harris replied looking down at his son, "my boy here can't fight. Hell, he can't even defend himself, that's what caused all this. He spends to much time with books and hanging out some little split tail.

"I don't want him to be a pussy all his life. He's not big enough for boxing or any real fighting type of fighting, So I brought him here for some of this bullshit stuff. If anything, it would get him is shape so when he's older, he can start in on the real fighting stuff."

Master Joe sat back looking at the man. Joe Murphy had been served as a Navy SEAL for thirteen years. He'd reached the rank of Master Chief, and been on a lot of missions , most so blacked out that he wasn't even supposed to dream about them. To call the Arts 'Bullshit' just about drove him up the wall.

Looking at the boy again, he saw a look in his eyes a look that he had seen in a lot of the countries where he had served.

The boy was afraid. Afraid of his father. Joe didn't know if the boy had been beaten by his father. But it was a safe bet that if he had before, maybe he would be again.

That made Joe's mind up.

He would take the boy on. If nothing else, it would get him out of the house and away from his dad and maybe the kid would let something slip that he could got to the cops about before the father hurt the boy too badly.

"I'll teach him," Joe said looking at the father again. "Leave him here and I'll see what he's got. Then we'll start next week on the fighting, once he gets healed up and in shape enough to handle it."

And so Xander started to learn Martial Arts.

Faith was waiting for him at school the next day.

She had ducked out of class the day before. But she had heard Xander had gotten into a fight and was waiting for him.

Xander looked up as he walked into the main hall way of school. Upon seeing Faith, he turned and walked down a side hall, hoping to dodge her. But he soon felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him to a stop.

"God," Faith whispered as she looked as his face.

"WHO DID THIS?!?" Faith screamed at him, causing everyone in the area to jump and look at them. Xander just ducked his head back down.

"Don't worry about it," Xander said looking around at the people watching them. "It's nothing."

"No, it's a big deal!" Faith told him gripping his arm. "You're my friend and no one hurts my friends!"

"Drop it," Xander said, his eyes pleading. He was a man, and if his dad found out a GIRL was doing his fighting for him, he was as good as dead.

"I won't," Faith said, looking at him and crossing her arms.

"Ok," Xander finally giving in. "Murphy. I got in a fight with Murphy."

"Ok, that I can understand," Faith said, looking at her friend. "But he wouldn't hurt you like this unless you started it."

"ME?!?" Xander exclaimed, "Me start something with that crazy bastard?"

"If you didn't start it," Faith asked, trying to get to the reason of the fight, "why did he go over board on you? You two have beat each other up before but he never hurt you."

"Oh," Xander snapped, "I couldn't hurt him?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"You sound just like my dad," Xander snapped again, his eyes flashing.

Then Faith did something she would later regret – she slapped him.

Xander comparing her to his father? That bastard that was always putting him down, hitting him. Someone who thought if you're strong enough, you can do what you want?

"Yep," Xander snarled. "Just like dad." And with that he turned and stalked off.

Faith watched him go, shocked at herself.

She had hit her friend. She had just wanted to help him and she ended up hurting him more. It shocked her to her very core, that she could do something like that.

Thinking things through, she still needed to know what happened and maybe help her friend.

And the only person that knew what had happened was...

"Murphy."

Murphy was having a good day. Make that a great day. He had had heard about the fight this morning between Faith and Xan. His little conversation with the boy yesterday must have worked.

It was kind of a shame really. While Murphy was a better fighter than Xander, Xander didn't take it laying down. He fought back with everything he had. It had been, all in all, a good fight. Connor had watched from the side lines, throwing one or the other back into the fight if they fell out.

And in the end, both boys were bloody and bruised but Murphy was the clear winner.

He turned as Faith walked up to him. He smiled at the sight of her. But then his day went to hell.

"Why the hell did you hurt Xan like that?" Faith snarled.

"Baby," Murphy tried. He had seen the guys in the neighborhood call their ladies that, and it always calmed them down, but what he didn't notice was how Faith's eyes narrowed at the word. "It was just a misunderstanding. We have it all worked out."

"You do?" Faith asked, "And just what do you have worked out?"

"That he's not your boyfriend," Murphy said as if it explained it all. "I am."

"Wait!" Faith was startled. "Xander thought he was my boyfriend?"

"Well," Murphy said, "yeah."

"But he's not. Because you are?"

"Yeah." Murphy said with a smile.

Faith stood there chewing the inside of her lip.

Boyfriend, that meant more to her than others. Her mom had boyfriends, lots of boyfriends. Some were ok, some were nowhere near ok. And since she had started to grow her tits, they had started to look at her more and more. Not just the creep that had tried to crawl into bed with her.

The thought that Xander might want to do stuff to her creeped her out.

Well not really, she was glad he thought about her, even if it was like that. But at the same time, she didn't want him to think of her like that. She was confused. He was her friend. But at the same time, it filled her with a warmth, a warmth like the first time he had slept with her. She smiled to her self, and thought of what Xander said so often about her - "Girl Logic."

Murphy looked the brunette's smile and thought it was over, so he put his arm around her shoulders pulling Faith in close to his side.

"Murphy?" Faith asked sweetly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You're my girl so I can hold you." Murphy said, while thinking Girls, have to explain everything to them.

"So you think that you can just beat up my friend and then I'll just become yours?" Faith asked sweetly.

"Well, Yeah."

"Let's get one thing straight," Faith all but snarled. "I am not some toy you boys get to fight over. I am not a prize to handed out! So get your FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME NOW!"

Murphy almost fell over himself jumping away from Faith. Girls weren't supposed to act this way. He had won the fight, so she should be his.

"Baby," Murphy tried again, only this time almost at the same time as the word left Murphy's lips, the air rushed out of his lungs as Faith's elbow smashed into his stomach and he went to his knees gasping for breath.

"I am not your baby." Her mom's third boyfriend had used that word right before dragging her off to the bedroom.

"My name's Faith. I am not anyone girlfriend. You understand? Xander is my friend. A friend that you hurt to get to me. You hurt him again, and I'll cut your nuts off, you understand?"

Faith waited 'til the boy nodded his head, and then walked away, a swish in her steps that hadn't been there before.

She was in control, and wouldn't let anyone else control her.

Not like her mom.

Xander stood back in the shadows.

He had watched the whole thing take place, his stomach taking a roller coaster ride with every moment the two had made.

And then it was over. And now he knew where he stood with Faith.

He was a friend. He had had dreams lately of being more than that. But he had heard it from her own lips.

He was just a friend.

He knew she would never say anything to him. She might even play along with him, but all she wanted him to be was her friend.

And if that was what she wanted, then that's what he would be.

End part three


	4. Chapter 4

1

Faith had waited in class for Xander to show, but he never came.

Which sucked, 'cause the only real reason she came to class today was to spend it with her bud. And he didn't even show.

What's up with that?

She had sat through the whole day, waiting for him to show up and giving Murphy dirty looks. At the end of the day, though, still no Xander.

It was on her way home that she finally saw him. He was standing in front of a dojo, talking to some old guy.

Getting off at the corner, she almost ran through the snow back to her friend. She just reached him as the man had turned and walked back into the building.

"Xander, where have you been?" Faith asked, breathless from the run from the bus stop.

"Nowhere," Xander said, looking at his friend, his dark eyes holding hurt.

"I sat through school wait for you to show up," Faith said, teasing. Hoping that Xan had forgiven her for this morning.

He seemed to have, but with Xander, you were never sure. He could hold grudge longer than anyone she knew.

"I just couldn't deal with it today," Xander said, looking away from the girl. The wind was whipping his hair around and you could almost smell the snow in the air that soon would be falling.

"I...I'm sorry," Faith said, looking down at her feet as they sank into the wet snow.

"The slap?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Faith said quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Xander with a grin. He had hoped she would have come clean about talking to Murphy, but she hadn't. "Been hit harder by people I like less."

"Xander..." Faith replied with a whiney voice. She already felt bad about slapping him, and knowing that didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey, We're FRIENDS," Xander almost snapped. "Friends forgive. So I forgive you."

"Xan.." Then it hit her – he knew about what she had said to Murphy.

Xander could see that she put it together.

"I got to go," Xander said turning toward his apartment.

"I am sorry," Faith said as she reached for him.

"Faith," Xander said, "I asked you to stay out of it. I told you I could handle it. But you just had to get in the middle of it."

"You were fighting over me," Faith snapped at him. "Didn't I get a say in what was going on?"

Xander's head dropped. He took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter that it was about you. What matters is, now I will have to fight harder to be one of the guys," Xander said. "I let a girl fight for me. If my dad finds out about... hell, when word gets out, I am dog meat on a stick.

"And it's all because you had to stick your nose in the middle of what happened."

"Xander! This was about ME!" Faith snapped at him. "You fought over me! I get to have a say in that. I am sorry it bruises your male ego. You got hurt because of me. I wanted to fix it."

"Faith. You've got to understand something," Xander said. "You can't fix everything. Even if you cause something, you might not ever be able to fix it."

Faith stood there and just watched as her friend walked away.

Joe stood back in the shadows. He'd heard and seen everything the kids had told each other.

Kids, Joe shook his head. These kids were growing up fast. When he was their ages, the worst he had to deal with was how he would he get chocolate ice cream for desert instead of some kind of pie.

Broken homes.

Mothers doing god knew what.

How could he relate to them?

He'd decided right then and there to be there for them if they needed it.

The boy had already needed him once, and judging by the way he talked, would more than likely be back. Something had happened today that caused the boy to ditch school and end up here. He hadn't talked about it, but it was safe here and out of the weather. And as long as he gets back in school, Joe saw no reason he couldn't continue to hang out here.

The next day at school.

Faith arrived to class a little late. She had waited for Xander to show up at the bus stop, but he never came out of his building. She had waited on him until she had almost missed the bus. It had snowed again last night but the streets had been cleared enough for traffic to resume.

Normally, she would have just skipped the day, but mom had a new guy over today, and Faith didn't want to deal with it.

And most of the local stores still hadn't opened yet, so it was either school or freezing on the streets with some of the girls from down the block. Most of her friends were either dropping out of school or just going to school to stay warm and score a meal or two.

But as Faith walked into class she noticed something.

Her seat was moved.

And Xander was sitting with Karen.

Faith almost laughed out loud at seeing the boy's face as she walked in. He looked like a trapped animal with the hunter walking up to the trapped. As soon as Karen saw Faith, she let out a laugh and put her hand on Xander's forearm. Xander just looked more confused. Then he took notice of Faith.

Xander had came to school early today 'cause he had to get out of the apartment. It was no longer his home – just a place to out his stuff.

Faith had that smirk on her face. Was she laughing at him? Or at Karen? Sure, Karen was a bit of an air head, but she was trying to be nice to him.

Faith walked up to the two.

"How's it hanging X?" she drawled out.

"Ok. Just a little on the left side today," Xander told his friend. "How are they hanging?"

"Oh, about a B-cup right now," Faith said, looking at her chest with a thoughtful look, then glancing at Karen's flat chest.

Faith was what her mom had called a early bloomer, and was already started to show the lines of a knock out body once she hit adulthood.

"Oh gross," Karen snapped at the two, her tone very disapproving.

"What's the matter?" Faith asked "Jealous?"

"Of you?" Karen snapped. "Never. I was just having a nice conversation with my new friend here and you have to butt in and bring that low class talk here. Not that I'm surprised, considering where you're from."

Faith just glared at the blonde girl, her fist balling up. Then she calmed down, looking at Xander.

"So you dumping me for her?" she asked quietly.

"Can't dump what's not mine," Xander said just as quietly." But you're my FRIEND, and that never changes."

Karen just smiled looking between the two. Just a little push and she could get just what she wanted.

"But Karen, you talk to my friend like that again,." Xander said turning his dark eyes on the blonde and away from Faith, "and we'll have words. Faith here is my friend and I don't like people talking about my friends."

"Sorry," Karen said her face turning into a wounded puppy look, the same look she gave her father when he wouldn't let her have something, and it worked on the boy just as it worked on her dad. "It's just talking about those kind of things isn't what people talk about in mixed company."

"Well," Xander said, looking almost like someone had used a poleaxe on him, "just don't let it happen again."

Faith just looked at the boy, and thought, She flashes her baby blues and he just gives in? What's up with that?

She knew that with a little sex, a girl can just about rule any guy. As her mom had told her once, a woman's power was between her legs, and any man would do anything to get a taste.

She just never thought of Xander as being a guy.

Xander looked at his friend, then at Karen, who was just smiling at him.

Faith was his friend. Would he like to be more? He didn't know. Maybe. . . He wasn't sure any more. Especially with her just wanting to be his friend, and nothing more. And then there was the way Karen was acting like she wanted more than just friends.

Xander smiled back at the girl, and made up his mind.

At the smile, Faith felt like a dagger had been driven into her heart.

While she had said aloud that Xander was only her friend, in the quiet of her soul, she had felt very different. She wanted him. And to watch him smile at that… bitch... was just about more than she could take.

On top of that was the fact she didn't even know if he still wanted to be her friend anymore. After yesterday, she wasn't sure.

Just then the bell rang and the teacher walked into the class, calling the student to their seats.

Karen took one more look at Xander then walked away. Once she had turned away, the smile changed from the sweet smile that she had been giving Xander to one of victory over a fallen and hated enemy.

Faith moved into her seat next to Xander and he turned to look at her.

"Had our first fight?" Xander whispered as the teacher started to call out the roll.

"Yeah," Faith replied, biting her bottom lip.

"Didn't like it," Xander said looking away.

"Me either."

"Let's try not to have that again," Xander said, looking back at the girl, hope shining in his eyes.

"Can't promise that," Faith said. She knew she didn't want to, but people fight. She had seen it all her life. "But we can try."

"Good enough."

"Just so you know," Faith said drawing in a deep breath, "You're my friend too, and I WILL protect you if I can. So if you're going to get mad about me standing up for you, we might as well call it quits."

"Oh," Xander said, "okay, as long as the rule applies to you too. We can still be friends."

"Friends," Faith said with a nod of her head.

And with that they had pulled in closer together.

Murphy sat down across from Xander. He smiled at the two with a 'forgive me' smile.

Faith just scowled at him, then turned to the teacher's call out that she was in class. Xander just looked at him, then nodded.

Xander so wanted to knock the bigger boy down, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do that – not and be able to walk.

So he did the only thing he could think about – he forgave the boy.

But he wouldn't ever forget it.

Xander opened his apartment door. Usually, when he came in from school, his mom had a snack laid out. He would eat the snack, then start his homework.

But today was different. The smell of home was gone and in its place was a smell that he would always remind him of his father. Beer and whiskey.

"Dad?" Xander called out.

But he knew his dad shouldn't be home for a few more hours yet.

There was a groan from the living room. He stopped as he walked into the room. It was a mess: furniture was overturned, books and magazines from his mother's shelves were thrown about. And in the middle of it all lay his mother, a pile of empty beer cans at her side.

She groaned again looking at her son, then she rolled over and went back to sleep. She had started to drink a few weeks ago. At first, it was just to take the edge off of a day. Then it was to help her sleep at night.

But he knew what it really was about; it was to help her forget who she had married.

"Mom?" Xander called as he bent to help her up from the floor. The young preteen, was big for his age but it was still a chore to get his mother to her room.

After getting her to bed, he went about picking up the house, and then getting up his homework.

Xander sighed, and looked around.

This day was just the best that could have happen. . . NOT!

That night was pretty bad for Xander. He could hear his mom and dad fighting most of the night. Christmas was coming up and from the way the pressure was building here, it was going to be a doozey.

He just hoped it would get better.

It didn't.

End part four.


	5. Chapter 5

1

Eight years later

Xander stood around and watched his team. He had joined the football team last year and had had a blast, though Faith didn't agree with it. But between Joe and Karen pushing him, he had tried out and, to his surprise, he made it.

The big reason he had tried out for the team was that Karen had made the point that she was a cheerleader and cheerleaders date football players. So here he was, looking around the club at his team.

Well, Club was definitely stretching it. It was a sports bar, with a strong leaning to the sports in its name. So far, he had been nothing but a glorified bench warmer, but the coach had told him that he would let him get some time on field the next time they play. And that was all he could hope for.

Looking around the place, he could see Murphy and Connor on one side, still bandaged up from their trip to the tattoo parlor. They had managed to drag Xander and Faith along with them, too, with the Twins getting some Latin tats on their hands and Faith getting some tribal markings on her arm, while the group had pushed him into a chair to get a cross on his shoulder.

He hadn't let anyone see it yet. In a few more days it would be completely healed, and then he would let Karen see it. She was always going on about Troy and his tats, and Xander was still man enough to be jealous about his girl going on about another guy.

Xander looked over at the quarterback – he was standing in front of the group watching the game on TV. In the center of the group as always, Xander thought with a shake of his head.

Then there was someone beside him. Karen.

"Your stalker is here." Karen whispered nastily. Xander had long since given up on the two girls in his life getting along. But at least there was no blood being shed. Had to look at the bright side.

"Faith?" Xander asked looking around.

"You got another stalker?" Karen asked with a raised eyebrow. "I honestly don't see what you like about her. She dropped out of school, hangs out those losers over there. She's trash."

"She's my friend, Kar," Xander reminded Karen. "No matter what you say, she will always be my friend."

"But you could do so much better." Karen pleaded. "You could be one of the 'It' crowd here. All you need to do is lose the dead weight."

"Kar..."

"I know you like them. But you keep missing THE parties to hang with them. I can understand the fighting thing," Karen reasoned. "Keeps you in shape and looks good on college transcripts. But those losers are never leaving Boston. Their Southies for life."

"Karen, I am a Southie." Xander told his girlfriend. "The dead weight, as you call them, are from MY neighborhood. I don't just cut people off because the IT people don't like them."

Karen just shook her head. The years she spent on the boy and he still didn't understand the way the world worked. She had, at first, just gotten close to him to hurt Faith, that little bitch. But as time went on, she found she liked him. At least a little. There was something about him that was worth the effort.

But he was so pig headed about Faith and the twins.

Faith stood in the corner with the twins, watching the snobs.

Man, she hated it. She would have never even come here if Xan wasn't here. She had dropped out of school two years ago and run out on her mom.

It had been tough at first, but she did alright. She had her friends, people she could trust and warm places to sleep. The Twins had put her up more times than not. And once it was settled that she wasn't going to play with them for the space, it worked out great.

The twins had dropped out about the same time she had and gotten their G.E.Ds and soon after, got jobs at the meat factory, hauling the animals' carcasses around to be butchered. Faith even put in a few hours there now and then for some money. The owner would look the other way as long she didn't cause trouble.

She had left the twins who were in deep conversation about the differences in American Football, and the real game of football, Soccer. The group looked to be getting pissed and she really didn't want to be at ground zero. Afterwards – hell, yeah. But let the bigger meat heads get knocked out, then she would join in. She wasn't stupid.

She had almost made it to the restrooms when an arm grabbed her and started to pull her into the guys room.

"What the hell?" Faith snarled and started to pull her arm, but it wouldn't come free of whoever was holding her arm. If anything, it just closed tighter.

"Faith," a drunken voice said from behind her. "How much do ya charge?"

"Fuck you," Faith said finally pulling free, and turning to see it was the head jock Troy.

"No," Troy said slurring his words, "Just a little head. I'll get some tighter pussy later."

"Get the hell away from me," Faith told the drunk jock. This was just like that night – the night she took off from her mom's. The night HE came to her room.

And the reason she never went to Xander's home anymore.

"I know you get paid to do it," Troy said. "It's all over school. Hell, I know your mom does it. My dad told me about her. Hell, I bet you even do for those fucks you hang out with. You're sleeping in their house."

"I am not a WHORE!" Faith yelled and the bar when quite all around them.

Then Xander was there.

"Hey, Troy back off," Xander told the quarterback calmly.

"No, you back off, Harris," Troy said. "You've locked us out of using the head queen here long enough."

"Say what?" Xander said in a flat voice.

Karen had moved up beside Troy, and was pulling on his arm.

"Come on. She's not worth it," Karen was saying.

"No," Xander snapped. "Just what did you mean, Troy?"

"Xan," Troy said, "she's a whore, like her mom. Hell even her grandma was one."

"Troy," Xander's rage was strumming through him, "Back off now."

"Xan, man, I just call them as I see them."

After that, things went down hill.

Across the club, Murphy looked up just in time to see the first punch. Xander – calm, cool Xander – just punched Troy, the king of their high school.

"Uh, Con?" Murphy asked, as a lineman jumped on Xander's back, and who, in turn, was jumped on by Faith.

"Yeah, Murph?" his brother asked, not taking his eyes off the game on the TV.

"Our friends over there seems to be in a bit of a problem."

"Yeah," Connor said, watching the wincing as Faith kneed one of the jocks in the crotch.

"Should we help them?" Murphy asked, already cracking his knuckles, but before he had finished, Connor had already taken off across the room, just as one of the jocks had punched Faith in the face.

"Oooo, this is going to be fun," Murphy said. Then he yelled out, "We're coming, sis!"

Xander was in the middle of fight, and he had never felt more alive. Faith was at his back, the brothers on their way.

This was living. It was a feeling he never had had before.

Looking back over his shoulder, he could see that the feelings were mirrored there.

All in all it was a great little fight.

At least 'til the cops came in.


	6. Chapter 6

1

Faith lay back on her cot.

The brothers and Xander had been taken to the male side of the jail, while she, being one of the few girls picked up, was put in here. The other girls had long since been bailed out, so Faith had the whole cell to herself. It had been hours since she had been locked up and she knew she wouldn't be getting out 'til morning but sleep was not a welcoming as it had been.

The dreams she had started to have recently had started out kind of cool, but fuzzy, but they had gotten sharper over time. Now they were crystal clear. And terrifying.

Young girls.

Always a young girl. Sometimes the same one, but most of the time not.

They always were fighting monsters, and most died. A blonde girl she had seen in her dreams hadn't died yet, but there were a lot of close calls. One of the dreams was in a cave with the girl was laying in a pool of water, almost dead. Then a figure bent over her, pulling her back to life.

Then it got weird.

Sometimes Xander would be there and he would do CPR and bring the girl back. And other times, it was short guy with spiky hair.

The dreams would play out, and, as always, a voice spoke to her. It wouldn't be clear, but the voice was getting clearer with each time it repeated. And then she would wake in a sweat.

While thinking about the dreams, Faith slowly fell asleep.

Xander was having a hard time.

He was locked up with the twins, and he felt the fight didn't anyway justify the cruel treatment he was getting.

"Say, Con," Murphy said from his top bunk.

"Yeah, Murph?" Connor replied from his top bunk across from his brother. Xander just lay back in his bunk under Murphy, biting his lips to keep form screaming at the two.

"You know I have to admire our friend Xander down there," Murphy said with a light voice, like he no trouble in the world.

"Why is that?" Connor asked looking down at their friend.

"Well, he is always on us about controlling our tempers. How we always seem to start fighting," Murphy told his brother, "and just look how he controls his own temper. I mean, it's not like I ever started a fight with a football team. Well, at least not all at one time."

"Why no, you haven't," Connor replied smirking down at the boy. Any minute now.

"I have had my share of fights you know." Murphy said, "but this one? And with his own team, no less. Tisk, tisk."

"Shut up the both of you," Xander snarled from below them.

Murphy looked over at Connor and smiled.

"Just remember this," Connor said, "you're family, Xan. We got your back. Always."

"Oh joy," Xander mumbled, then rolled over.

He was secretly happy about the commitment, but with these two, the offer of being a family member could be a threat as well as promise of friendship.

Saturday morning rolled around and still no one had shown up to bail out Xander. The Twins had been let out earlier, since they hadn't started the fight after all.

Which was a bit of a shock to the cops that knew them. Not to say that the boys were trouble makers, but they were a bit high strung. But Xander had thrown the first blow and with all the witnesses, it was decided to hold him 'til his parents or some other adult came and got him.

It was just after nine when the cell door opened and the cops told him that he had been bailed out.

"What do you know, Dad actually came through," Xander muttered as he walked to the receiving area to be out processed.

Only when he got there, it wasn't his dad waiting. It was Joe.

"Boy," Joe said, looking up from talking to one of the officers behind a glass enclosed desk.

"Hey, Joe," Xander said, looking around the room, "Where's Faith?"

"Not here," Joe replied. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Yes, sir."

As Xander was being out processed, Faith was sitting in a interrogation room. She had been in the room for a few minutes when a woman walked in.

The woman was dressed in business suit, and carrying a leather briefcase. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a bun and she wore a slim set of eye glasses.

"Faith Lehane?" the woman asked as she sat down and pulled out a file from her briefcase.

"Case worker or lawyer?" Faith asked as she slid down in her chair while kicking her booted feet up on the table and smirking when the woman drew back to watch her.

"Ms. Lehane?" the woman asked again.

"Yeah," Faith huffed out, looking toward the wall, a camera was mounted on the wall. "Shouldn't this place have the two way mirror deal-ly?"

"Don't worry about it, Ms Lehane," the woman stated. "My name is Linda Morgan."

"So," Faith looking at the woman again, "Case worker or lawyer?"

"Neither," Linda smiled. "I am here to help you, though." Linda pulled out some more paper, putting them in front her and Faith.

"These are court orders," Linda explained to the girl. "You have been put into my custody. I am to take over responsibility over you."

"I had a mom," Faith said setting up looking at the paper. "Don't need another one."

"I'm not here to be your mother," Linda said smiling softly. "But I am here to help you."

"Help me what?" Faith said with a snort.

"To reach your full potential."

Joe and Xander sat in the Dojo.

Joe had not wanted to take the boy home right then. He knew what was waiting at his home, and so didn't want to push that on the boy. And he wanted to know what happened.

"You used the art in a bar fight," Joe said with a frown.

"Yes," Xander replied. He was quiet, figuring this was to be the last time Joe would let him come here. "I don't know what happened."

"I know what happened. You and your friends got in a fight, and beat up three people; one who had go to the hospital," Joe said with a disapproving voice.

"Yeah, that's what happened," Xander said just as quietly as he had been the whole ride over.

"What happened?" Joe asked the boy. "I know you and I know your friends. You don't start fights like this. Connor and Murphy, they start fights like this, but not this time. Your little fire cracker – she doesn't start stuff with the whole team. She might if you were in trouble, but she usually only fights one on one."

"Troy," Xander started, then stopped.

"Troy what?" Joe racked his fingers through his hair. "Xander, you're not making this any easier."

"Troy… He did something," Xander rushed out. He didn't want to think about anyone hurting Faith that way, she was his friend. And the more he thought about someone touching her that way, the more his blood boiled.

"What did he do to you?" Joe asked. Then it hit him.

While Faith, and the twins would fight most of the time, it was usually with each other and never to really hurt someone. Xander had become the groups peace maker. He would calm the nerves, bring the peace offering. But if someone had attacked one of his friends, he would have stood up to them.

If someone had tried to hurt Faith, then only God would protect them.

"Troy, he tried to hurt Faith," Joe finally said. It was a statement of fact. And it was confirmed when the boy didn't say anything.

"He tried to drag her into the bathroom," Xander finally said. "He called her a whore like her mom. I tried to break it up. I really tried."

"I am sure you did," Joe said calmly.

It all made sense now. Someone had tried to hurt Faith. Over the years that the boy had came here, Joe had gotten to know the groups of friends. They would hang out while Xander did his workouts. Faith even got on the mats a few times. And if there was one person in the world that Xander would kill for, it was Faith.

And the reverse was also true. Those two would watch each other's back more than a brother and sister would. And from the looks they gave each other there was no sibling feelings going on between them.

"I just lost it," Xander was saying. "The next thing I knew, there were cops there and I was holding one of their batons. I did stop before I attacked them. But when he touched my shoulder, I just reacted. I could have really hurt him. I saw all the moves I could make and how to take him out."

"But you didn't," Joe said. "Xan, you could be very dangerous with what I have been teaching you. But you're not. You said you lost it.

"But you didn't. If you had, there would have been at least one, maybe two, kids in the morgue this morning. You used enough force to win, that's all. This could have been a lot worse."

Joe got up and walked to the office to call Xander's parents. Xander's mom had called Joe this morning and asked if Joe would pick Xander up. She didn't feel well, and his dad was out of town right then. So Joe had gone. But he knew the real reason she didn't want to go; he could almost smell the beer over the phone as he talked to the woman.

Joe had watched the woman slowly sink into the bottle over the years. But she was still the boy's mom. And he knew there was nothing he could really do about it, except watch.

And help the boy as much as he could.

He had tried to report them once or twice over the years, but it always ended up the same. No one really cared what happened here as long as it didn't make the news. And one family of drunks didn't make news.

Xander sat in the dojo. He had not moved since Joe had walked into his offices. All that ran though his head was that he had almost hurt that cop. Troy and the others, if he had hurt them, then it was no big, they asked for it as far as he was concerned.

But if he had hurt the cop –

He could remember that cop's face last night. He had walked up and touched him. That was it – just a touch, and Xander had whirled around, snatching the cop's baton from his hand before he realized who it was. He could still see the guy's face go pale, and his mind played out all the places he should hit. It would have been so easy to hurt the man. One false move, and it would have been over.

And he would be like his dad.

Hurting people. Anyone that couldn't watch out for their selves.

He would die before that happened to him.

The next day.

Xander had still not heard from Faith.

He had called the twins, but nothing. And strangest of all, the cops had never heard of her.

She wasn't arrested last night. He and the twins had been pulled in, but not her. Even though she had sat beside him in the cruiser.

She had just disappeared from the face of the earth. And it was driving him crazy.

He was just walking out the door of his building to go look for Faith again. He had been in and out of the building all day, coming home only to check and see if Faith had called but so far nothing.

But when he walked out this time, he almost walked into Max, and Karen.

"Xan." The big... the VERY big lineman said.

Max was the closest thing that he had to a friend on the team. They had helped each other out with school work on the bus rides to games. But they didn't just hang out, so him being here brought him to a stop. And Karen being with him had his stomach in knots.

"Yo, big guy," Xander said, looking up into the dark face of Max, then over to his girlfriend's, who now had a black eye. "Ouch, Kar. You ok?"

"No," Karen said. This would be harder than she thought. Over the years, she had gotten to like Xander. He was a caring friend, and she did enjoy his company, but things had changed and he had changed them.

"So what's up?" Xander asked again, this time looking at his girlfriend.

"Xan. . ." Karen began, looking at Xander. She bit her bottom lip. Why was this so hard? She had known Xander most of her school life. He had been so nice to her. Always there for her. Never once had he not done what she asked him to do. Now she had to do this. "We need to break up."

"What?!?" Xander almost yelled at the girl. Max tensed up. The team had asked him to come with Karen to make sure this didn't get out of hand and after last night…

"Xander," Karen smiled as a few tears coming up into her eyes. "I am cheerleader. We only date team members. After last night, you're being asked to leave the team."

"I'm what?" Xander felt the breath rush out of him.

"Sorry, dude," Max's deep voice said, "but you took down some of the stars on the team. You go back on that field, you won't be walking off. I was told not stop anyone that goes after you. And you'll be getting the ball a lot. The team might lose a game. But you could lose a lot more."

"Xander," Karen started , "I don't want to do this, but I need this. Cheerleading is who I am."

"But Karen," Xander replied, "you could be more."

"No I can't," Karen said. "I am going to a cheerleader 'til I graduate, then go to some college where I'll do questionable things, then marry a rich man. We never really had a chance, Xan."

"Please, Kar," Xander begged.

"No," Karen said. "You're sweet, nice and everything a girl would want, but it's over."

Karen turned to Max. "Let's go."

"Sorry, man." Max said. "You're a good guy but I can't take on the team for you. I need a scholarship to get out of these neighborhoods."

It was night, and Xander sat in his bed.

He had lost everything that day. His girl had left him, the team kicked him off.

And Faith was gone.

No one had seen her. Her mom had moved a few weeks ago and didn't bother to tell anyone where she had gone.

His dad had freaked when he had found out about the team. The fight after that wasn't nice. His mom had tried to keep everyone calm 'til she could tell that it wasn't going to happen. And in the end, it was settled, that Xander was getting a job.

He would start to work down at the warehouse. The job itself was simple. The warehouse was simple; it was mostly just files and storage for some law office. Lamb and heart or something like that.

His dad had it arranged that he would start next week on the evening shift after school. He would be able to do his homework on his lunches and earn a little money on the side.

Looking outside, he still worried about Faith. He'd never found her. He just knew something had happened to her. The cops still didn't know where she was and just acted like she was a runaway. And because they couldn't find her mother, the thought was she had gone to be with her. So with only a few kids looking for her, they really didn't put that much effort in finding her.

Across town, Faith stood at a window looking out at the snow fall.

Linda had given her low down: she was a potential Slayer.

She didn't believe it at first. At least, 'til a few hours ago.

Linda had taken her out to a graveyard and they had stood around freezing their tits off.

At least 'til it had shown up.

It had pulled itself from the ground, its yellow eyes glaring at them, and then Linda had thrown her a stake.

Linda had told her about it. She had told her the how's and the why's. But until that moment, she thought that Linda had been full of shit. Maybe a little crazy. But no way were there monsters really out there. But then, all of a sudden, here she was, standing over one of them.

And she froze. This wasn't really happening.

But it was.

The Vampire had pulled her down and was climbing on top of her, and then Linda was there, driving the stake into the vamp's back and dusting it.

"Quite a shock, I know," Linda had said. "I about screamed my head off the first time. But it gets better."

But as Faith looked out over Boston, she didn't think it would. She had to leave her friends. She couldn't bring this on them.

Xander would stand with her, she knew it.

And he would die.

She couldn't let that happened.

A tear rolled down her face. Alone.

She was alone again.

Linda called her from other room. It was time to eat.

Faith sighed one last time an turned and walked out of her room.

End part 6.


	7. Chapter 7

1Sweat.

That was all Xander could remember about his first day at the warehouse.

Sweat and dust. That and that the guy he had been working with was sniffing everything.

Xander even caught him sniffing him as well. It was just plain creepy. With a capital creep!

Still, the money was good, and he could put up with an oddball every now and then. Mr. Sniffy only worked nights, so Xander only saw him a few hours a day, and most of the time he was off in the better parts of the warehouse.

So each day for Xander started early. He would leave for school, then after school, he would go to work. On his lunch break, he would do what homework he could, then go back to sweating in the dusty back rooms. And not just the back rooms of the main warehouse.

The Company had one big place and lots of little ones. His dad worked at the main warehouse, while Xander was a floater – he moved from one to the next, but he always got the back rooms. The rooms that no one else wanted to work in.

Things happened back in those areas. People would punch at the time clock and go to work in the back of the warehouse, and never come out. Shadows would move on their own. And the boxes and crates were strange. Some would smell sweet while others were pungent, and others like rotten meat, or hot metal. And every now and then, he would swear that something would move in them. But still, it was good money and it was just one small step away from his dad.

It had been three weeks and still no Faith.

He had heard from this person or that, that she was around, but he never saw her. One time, he had just missed her by seconds. She had ducked out of a store as he was going in.

It hurt, and then it pissed him off. Faith. His Faith was running from him. That was the only explanation and it was one that he didn't understand.

Sure, the fight at the bar had been his fault, and she had been locked up. At least, she was driven down to the station. But after that – nothing. What could he have done to make her leave him like she had done?

So now he was alone.

He stopped caring about Faith. Anyone that could just drop a friend like that wasn't a friend. So, if she wanted to leave him, so be it. But it still hurt him. Whether he wanted to admit it or not.

All he knew that his life sucked at the moment, and it all started with that night. And that caused him to get angry. No, it was almost a rage. The rage built in him more and more, with each new change in his life.

And Faith was just the start in a long list

Kicked off the team, girlfriend dumped him, then she shows up at school in Troy's car. After which, school went downhill. The teachers, who as long as he was on the team, cut him some breaks with the course work, suddenly wanted him to work for his grades, on top of extra work to make up what he had missed over the year.

As for friends, he still had the twins, and a few others at school. But most had disappeared with one look from Troy. Others at the school were like Max the lineman. It was getting too close to getting out of school and moving on to colleges, or into the work force. And the drama of what Troy was doing was just not worth their time.

Then there was Xander's new home life. His dad told him if he couldn't hang on the team, he had to get a job so he could help out around the apartment. His dad got him a job working at the warehouse with him. And half of Xander's pay check went to his dad. What he did with it Xander didn't know.

The last few weeks had been hard on Faith.

Linda was nice. And she took care of her. She bought her things she needed. Always had plenty of food. And there were no guys coming and going. It had gotten to where Faith didn't even lock her bedroom door anymore.

But something was missing. She didn't know what. She should have been happy, but there was a sadness that only went away when she hit the old neighborhood.

She had watched Xander from a distance. Her new life would just get him hurt, so she had just watched him, never talked to him, knowing that if she had came in contact with him she would tell him everything.

And Linda had told her Slayers were meant to be alone. So, if she was to be one, she needed to act alone.

But still she missed him.

She ached just to walk up and talk to him. To find out what was going on in his life. He looked so hurt lately. Alone. She never saw him with the team anymore. Or the Bitch, Karen. He wasn't even hanging out with the twins as much anymore. The twins had started to act funny as well, coming and going at all hours.

As she had watched Xander on his daily routine. He would go to school every day. She had tried to follow him after school, but he never seemed to leave the same way. He'd catch a bus, and head off downtown. Then some days, he would head to the docks. And one time, a truck had picked him up. The name W&H warehouses was painted on the sides. After a few blocks, it just disappeared, not that a girl running after a truck would keep up with it.

Faith drew herself up and prepared for a bath, as she heard Linda on the phone talking to someone. Some guy named Giles. Faith smirked and looked out at her watcher on the phone. So Little Miss Tight-knees did have a man.

It had been a running joke between them that Linda hadn't had a date since high school, and Faith always seemed to have guys around her. And truth be told, it was almost true. Linda didn't go out, since her calling took up to much of her time. Preparing Faith was her upmost duty. And Faith did hit the clubs, and did things that neither wanted to talk about. Not to say that she was a slut or anything, but finding out you had a shelf life did make you want to make the most of what you had.

But the person she most want to spend time with was lost to her, and would stay lost to keep him safe.

All in all, both had very empty lives.

After Faith's bath, she lay back in her sleep wear, a band shirt she'd picked up after a concert. Dingo's Ate My Baby – the band name was strange enough to fit in her new life. The band had already left before she had gotten there and the shirts were cheap, so she got one, just for the hell of it. It was warm and since Linda didn't like Faith sleeping in the nude, it would work.

That night, the dreams started again. This time they were clearer.

Still not a whole lot of sense but she could make them out now.

Dream

It was Xander.

He stood in front of her and three others stood around him.

She couldn't see them clearly 'cause they seemed to flow. The far one's skin was moving and broken in places as bugs crawled under and on his skin. The next one was a tall man in black, his face almost skeletal. The one on the left of Xander was gaunt, his clothes were worn and dirty, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in a while.

Then she looked back to Xander.

It was Xander, but someone else was looking out of his eyes. They were bloodshot, with a cruel sneer on his face. He shook himself and his clothes fell away. Under them was armor. The metal was rough and had an unfinished look about it. Dry blood streaked the metal, and in his hand was a sword. Fresh blood flowed down it, to pool at the ground at his armored feet.

"Reap the whirlwind," Xander said.

Then he was on a horse, with the others beside him, and they turned and charged off across a grassy plain.

Where the riders touched, things changed.

Where the gaunt man's horse touched the grass, it withered.

Where the bug man's horse touched, insects sprang up and began to eat the grass.

The dark man's horse touched the grass and it faded and died.

And where Xander's horse touch the ground, it became torn and bloody.

The voice, the one that had been fuzzy and muffled, was loud and clear now – a woman's voice.

"You have been chosen."

Dream End

Across the country.

A blonde girl sat up in a pool of water, gasping for breath. She looks from her friend kneeling over her to her love standing behind him.

Something was wrong. This wasn't right.

But she knew what to do. What she always did: kill a vampire.

She just hoped it was soon enough.

End part 7


	8. Chapter 8

1Xander had just slid the forks of his forks of the fork-lift he was operating under the crate when he heard a pop.

He looked around to see if anyone else was around and saw no one, as usual, since the rest of the crew had pulled out of the back warehouse as soon as night fell, leaving Xander to prepare and move around the creates that were to be shipped out to the main offices the next day. He had thought the box looked a bit worn when he first checked, but it should have held together better than it had.

Getting off the fork-lift, he walked around the crate, looking for damage, but didn't find any on the sides or top. Underneath, though, the wood had cracked and a split ran along the whole bottom.

The fork-lift had picked the crate up at least three feet from the ground so, after looking around again and still seeing no one, Xander moved under the crate for a closer check. The wood had a wet look to it and through the spilt he could see what looked like metal.

Staying out from under the box, he reached over and pushed on the wood to see if it would hold if he started moving it around. But as he reached the wood, he felt it move and the metal shifted.

He started to pull back, just as he his feet slid out from under him. He hit the cold damp floor of the warehouse, just as he heard a snap and he turned his head just in time to see the bottom of the crate give way, dropping pieces of metal on top of him.

Faith was sweating, and not in a good way. She had almost fallen out of bed, and the dream was still running in her head.

Xander was in trouble. Somehow, she just knew it.

Dressing quickly, she looked once again out of the window. It was late and Linda had gone out earlier to get something from someone that she didn't know.

More books, probably. At least, that was what Faith thought.

As Faith dressed, she noticed how fast she was moving. And how light everything seemed to be.

She was just walking out of the door when she noticed that she hadn't turned on the lights in her room, although it seemed that she had. Her senses were turned way up tonight, and she could smell Linda's perfume almost before the woman walked in the door.

"Faith," the woman greeted her as she put down a package.

"Linda, I gotta go," Faith said, moving toward the door.

"What's wrong?" the older woman asked looking over at her charge.

"Xan's in trouble." It was all she knew, and that wasn't enough.

"You called him?" Linda asked, a little bit of a disapproval in her voice.

"No. You told me that I couldn't, remember? You said, he wouldn't be safe around me," Faith replied, he voice going soft. It had been the biggest fight that the two had had, and it was almost enough to drive Faith away from the Watcher.

If it hadn't been for her actually seeing a vampire, she would have long since bailed.

"Then how?" Linda asked.

"I dreamed it," Faith said, and stood rock still waiting for Linda to laugh at her.

"You dre-" Linda stopped herself and looked closely at the young girl.

Could it have happened?

Linda looked on the table in front of her. A small bowl of oranges were there. Picking one up, she looked at Faith, who still hadn't turned around.

Linda could feel the weight of the dagger under her coat.

The test. It was the only way she could be sure.

The fastest way, and one that there was no mistakes could be made.

It was the same test that had been handed down for thousands of years.

"Faith?" Linda called out, and as the young woman turned, Linda threw as hard as she could.

As Faith turned, she saw a blur heading her way. She reached for it out of instinct, and the world seemed to slow down for a few seconds as Faith snagged the orange out of the air.

"What the hell?" Faith asked looking at the smiling Linda.

"You're the new Slayer."

"What? You're supposed to throw an orange at the Slayer?" Faith asked, smirking a little at the smiling woman, "You Brits are a strange lot. What happens when you throw apples?"

"No," Linda smiled, "it a test. Yesterday you couldn't have done that, not that fast. The power is in you now. You are a Slayer."

"Still," Faith asked, one eyebrow arched. "Oranges?"

"It's a lot better than the old way," Linda smiled. "Some of the old hidebound members still use it."

Linda looked at the expression on the face of her charge.

"They throw a dagger at your head. You catch it, you're a Slayer."

"What happens to the ones that don't?"

"That's why I went with the orange."

Linda smiled at the shocked look on the girls face.

"Thanks." Faith said shakily, then she remembered her dream. "Xander – I have to go."

"Faith, it's too dangerous."

"No. It's Xander," Faith said, her eyes going flat. "Linda, you've been more of a mother than my mother.

"But Xander is in trouble, and if I have to, I WILL go through you."

"Faith..."

But it was already to late.

She was gone.

It was a strange night.

She had felt the eyes on her all night. And felt a hunger that she had never felt before.

She had always liked to fight, but now it was almost an over the top pleasure when she did.

And it was the first time that she had felt them.

Vampires.

The first one was early on. It was close to her old neighborhood and caused Faith to move faster. She wanted to find out about Xander, but he wasn't home.

His dad was passed out on the couch, and his mom was in bed sleeping off her drink.

And Xander's room was empty.

Looking around the room she could see where things were missing. He'd had a picture of the two of them on his night stand and now it was gone. She knew there had been a few other picture of him and Karen, and they, too, were gone. He'd also kept a football helmet on his dresser, but now it only held more clothes piled on it.

She couldn't get a real close look from where she was perched on the fire escape, looking in through the window but it was enough to tell her that he wasn't there.

It was then that she met her first demon.

It was hiding in an alleyway just a block from Xander's. It had been waiting for someone, anyone to walk by, and Faith had just about made it past the dark alleyway when it had struck.

A tentacle shot from under a pile of trash, locking around her ankle. As the appendage tightened on her leg, smoke started to come from under its grip.

Faith was stunned by the surprise attack, but not for long. She pulled free from the monster and jumped back to look down at her foot. She could see where the acid had eaten through her jeans and had started doing the same on her boots. But fortunately, the corrosive affect had stopped once she had pulled free.

"Aw, man," Faith grumbled. "Those were my favorite boots."

After that, the fight was short and violent.

The slug-like creature had a great attack, but once you got away from it, it had no real defenses. Its skin was just a thin layer of slime, and any sharp blow would break it easily - all it took was something strong and heavy.

And with lots of boards that the Slayer found laying around the alley, it had been easy enough to finish it off.

Within thirty minutes, there was no evidence of the demon other that some two by fours jammed into the brick wall where the creature had been pinned like a butterfly by an irate Slayer.

The walk home for Xander wasn't any kind of fun.

He had been released from the hospital a few hours before daybreak. He had called home to see if his dad would come and get him, only to receive a 'hell, no!' Dear old dad had said he had to get up for work in a few hours, so Xander could catch the bus or get a cab.

The problem was, he couldn't get either.

The bus had slowed down for a moment and the driver had looked at him, but after seeing the blood soaked clothes and bandages plainly visible under his jacket, the driver just sped up and headed to the next stop, leaving Xander to stand there, watching it move on down the road.

He knew the buses at night were weird; he'd even heard about them being sued for not picking up people, but the case had gone nowhere. The lawyers suing the city had met with the city council in private and then dropped the case, after the City had told them that if the case had gone to trial, then the lawyers would have to ride the buses at night to make sure the no one had their rights violated.

Xander snorted as the bus pulled away from him. He could just see some lawyer sitting there tell the driver that he should have picked him up.

Yeah, right. Maybe in a million years.

It was then he felt eyes on him. Turning around, he couldn't see anyone but he still felt like someone was watching him. Shrugging his shoulders, he walked down the street.

Then he heard a step behind him. When he turned around, young woman stood there. She smiled at him.

"Hello," the blonde called out.

"Hey," Xander replied, looking her over. She was about his age, but she was wearing something that looked too thin for the cold night.

"Could you give me a hand?" the woman called out.

"What's wrong?" Xander asked, walking toward her.

But as he closed in on her, he felt a burning sensation. Looking down, he saw his work ID card was getting hot.

At the same time, the woman looked closer at him.

"Oh," she said, "you work for them. Sorry. Guess I have eat somewhere else."

She turned then, muttering something about lawyers and how could they keep the cattle away from her.

"Uh," Xander mumbled, "Ok?"

He blinked and she seemed to disappear between the time he closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Weird," Xander mumbled.

And other than that, the only strange thing he found on his way home was the sight of three two by fours jammed into the wall of an alley way.

One that smelt like someone had used it for a bathroom.

And forgot to flush for a week.

In the middle of summer.

At a race track.

In short, it stank to heaven.

As soon as he got home, he called the warehouse and told them what the docs had said, and was told to take the week off. With pay.

He was a good worker (at least, that's what they said.) What he heard, was that they didn't want to lose someone that would work the back area.

Taking his meds and settling down into bed, he looked out his window, wondering where Faith was, and whether she was ok.

It pissed him off that she took off.

But he still worried about her.

Faith limped into Linda's apartment a little after day break.

The night was totally busted.

No Xander, but there had been plenty of uglies out there.

Some were easy to kill while others were hard. There were even a few that were peaceful and ran from her.

She had also ruined her best boots. The jacket was a total loss as well, but her shirt was mostly ok. But there was a big stain on it and her jeans had a big burn mark from where the slug demon had hit her leg.

"Cut-offs," Faith thought, looking at them. Then she smiled - Daisy Dukes. She wondered what Xander would think about that.

At least, she did 'til she remembered that he was in trouble.

Outside, unknown to her, she had been watched. A vampire stood in the doorway of a home where the tenants had long since died.

He had been placed there to watch the Morgan woman. After all, a Council Watcher didn't move into a vampire's territory and not get watched.

Especially when it was leaked that she was there. Mostly especially when they sere seen with a young girl leaving with them.

He had seen the young girl leave earlier that night, moving fast and then come back in this morning, beaten and battered.

It smiled as it pulled out a cell phone.

"Trick," he said, "She's one."


	9. Chapter 9

1

It had been a month and Faith was going crazy.

Before, it had been her dodging Xander. Now it was Xander dodging her.

One month earlier

It had started a few days after he was hurt that she finally found him. He was sitting at a local McD's. She hadn't even been looking for him. She'd just had a craving for some fries and there he sat as she walked in – watching the kids play in the play yard. Parents were taking advantage of the warm day to let the kids run around the yard while they sat and talked to others parents.

Faith came to a stop when she walked in. Shaking her head, she walked up to him. She should have known he would be here. Fast food and cute girls behind the counter? That was a lethal combination for her Xan.

"Hey," Xander said, not even looking at her.

"Hey, bro," Faith said, "how's it going?"

"And you care?" Xander said, still not looking at her.

"Hell, yeah," Faith said, "you're my Xan, and I'm your Faith. It's always been us and always will."

Xander turned to look at her, and his eyes were cold as he looked at her. It was almost the same as the ones he had from the dream, only these hadn't seen the things that the dream Xander had seen.

"You left," Xander said. "I didn't."

"I..." Faith stumbled.

"I don't want to hear it," Xander interrupted. "I know you know I was looking for you. I left messages everywhere for you. You LEFT. I told you a long time ago I wouldn't leave you.

"But, you never said you wouldn't leave me," he snorted.

"I didn't leave you," Faith said desperately. "It's for your own good. I – I – I can't tell you what's going on, but you needed to be away from me."

"And yet, here you are," Xander snarled.

"I dre... I heard you were in trouble," Faith protested, looking at her friend.

"Trouble?" Xander said with a weary shake of his head. "Trouble, she says.

"Faith, I stood with you. Remember getting arrested? No, of course not. They don't even remember you in the car with me. Then I go looking for you, only to find out you ditched me like last month's garbage. Got you a new sugar daddy or something. Been seen all over the place, partying it up. Jumping from guy to guy," he said in a completely emotionless voice.

"While your faithful friend gets his life turned to shit," he then added with a half-snarl. "I lost my place on the team because of that fight. I lost my girl because I was kicked off the team. Oh, and let's not forget disappointing daddy. Now I have to get a job. And not just any job – the same one he has.

"So let's recap. I lost my best friend," Xander said a she gave the girl a pointed look. "I lost my best chance to get out of here and make something of myself, all because I stood up for my best friend. Lost the best girlfriend I have ever had because of my 'Best friend'. And it looks like I'm on my way to being my dad. So, trouble? I know where it's coming from.

"And I know how to lose it."

With that, Xander got and walked out the restaurant, leaving a stunned Faith behind him.

She had never thought about how he would have felt about her leaving him. She was protecting him. That was what Linda had told her and she believed it. She still did in the silences of her soul.

But looking at it from his eyes, it looked like something a whole lot different. She had run out on him. Dodged him when he needed a friend. Sure, it wasn't save the world trouble, but it was trouble all the same.

She sat for a moment. She had to make this right. Sure, he was pissed, and he had blown off steam at her. But that was just his way. If he really didn't want her around, he would have pulled on a mask of some kind, and she wouldn't have known that he was mad. Or at least, not mad at her.

For him to blow up at her, in a strange way showed that he cared about her.

She got up and headed out, only not to see him anywhere. She looked for him all day, but still ended up with nothing.

In the short time, she now knew how he felt.

He left her.

The days turned into weeks and she still knew nothing about Xan. She didn't have anymore Slayer dreams, only a feeling something wasn't right.

Linda had dragged the dream out of her and sent it along with a report to the Council. The only thing they said was that they would handle it. Nothing more or less. Linda got the feeling that she was being stonewalled.

She was one of the youngest Watchers had ever sent out. Giles in Sunnydale had been a mentor of hers. He was someone that had fallen in with a dark crowd and pulled himself out and then went on to be a Field Watcher – something she had dreamed of her whole life. The Giles and her Family had shared a close relationship for hundreds of years. She had even dated one Rupert's cousins before she had been sent to Boston.

She had to thank Mr. Travers for her position. He had been instrumental in her selection. He had sent Rupert to Sunnydale, and he had sent her here, even though his family had always been opposed to what the Morgans and Giles had tried to do.

She though it showed that he wasn't has hidebound as most thought him to be. So, instead of these young slayers getting someone who would almost enslave them, they got someone that would help them master themselves and become a greater Slayer.

Linda sat at the breakfast table looking at the clock. It was time for Faith to show up. Thinking of her feelings for the girl, she wondered what she would feel if she never came back one night. To not hear that smart mouth, those sexually-charged comments.

Linda shook herself, and thought that she needed to send Rupert a note. Something to tell him how sorry she was that he had lost his Slayer. She knew it would hit him hard. He always got close to his students, once you got past the reserve he put up. The man could come across as a cold fish, but he wasn't really.

He was just a warm and caring person that didn't trust others too much. He had too many trusted friends who had turned on him. Mainly, Ethan Rayne. He had turned on a younger Giles and caused the young man to close off, and to trust a lot less.

Just then Faith stormed in.

"Still no luck?" Linda asked, pushing the young girl a glass of orange juice. It had become a morning ritual, Oranges for the Slayer. And Linda went out of her way to find more and more ways to give Faith oranges. Sometimes it was juice, other times it was slices or flavorings in the food.

"Plenty of luck," Faith snarled. "Just none of it good. Got a few demons at the docks and three vampires at the war memorial, in Independence Square. Found Xander there."

"Oh," Linda asked carefully, "Talk to him?"

"No, I lost him," Faith said looking down.

"A normal boy lost you, a Slayer?" Linda asked. She knew that someone with some training could do it. But for a normal boy to do it said something.

"I know." Faith replied, "One minute he was tracing names with his hand, and he looked up an saw me. The next, he was gone. Couldn't even find a track that he was even there."

"You go by his apartment?" Linda asked. She already knew that answer. Her charge had gone there every day since she had talked to the boy those weeks ago.

"Yeah," Faith said. "He painted his windows black. I can't see in anymore. And his mom always says he's out. And his dad just hits on me and calls his son a fagot for not wanting some fine pussy like me."

Linda drew up straight with shock. She knew the boy had a bad home life but to have his father talk to a young girl like that – what kind of man would this boy grow into?

"Maybe you just need to let him get his space and he might talk to you. You chase him around, he's just going to keep running."

"Maybe," Faith replied glumly.

Xander jumped up from his bed, poised for a fight.

Another dream.

Nightmare, really.

He wiped the sweat off his face as he walked out of his room, hoping his dad was gone already. He made his way to the shower and while standing under the water in the shower, he thought back over his dream.

It was a battle of some kind.

The ENEMY were outside of the perimeter fence. He could feel them watching. He was sitting in a machine gun nest, an M-60 mounted before him, and alongside him were triggers for an array of claymore mines.

He looked over at his partner who was catching a nap. He knew he wasn't supposed to sleep on duty but they had been on duty every night. And his friend had just gotten a 'Dear John' letter. His wife had left him for some college guy. They were protesting the war. Last he heard she was taking his little girl to meet the planes coming home and calling the soldiers baby killers and who knows what else.

A name had flown across his mind. He could see the guy and knew everything about him. What he did, what he knew and how he died. It had been a sniper shot just as the sun came over the hills of that valley in the jungle.

The guy's name was driving Xander crazy. He had to find out if it was a real name.

He hit the library and while waiting for a computer to open up, he looked through the shelves. It was strange, but he just knew stuff. Pulling down history books, he would read about battles, and it was as if he was there. It wasn't the dry knowledge one gets from reading about the battles, or even seeing them on tv or the movies. He could feel the swords in his hands, feel the kicks from the rifles as they fired into the enemies' bodies.

It was scary. He could tell how many people had died in each conflict. He felt each and every death. As he got closer and closer to the modern times, he knew more and more. He knew how to use every weapon, how logistics equipment worked, how techs would hack into their enemies' computer to gather data. He could even recall the deaths from the Cold War battles that had been fought and were still fought in the shadows.

As soon as a computer was free, he dove in searching for names.

And each one he pulled up was a real person.

Each had died exactly how he dreamed they did. Some had been heroes, while some were in just at the right place and the wrong time. Some were saints, and other were demons.

And it was all in his head.

The last name he pulled up was from Boston. The same name as was on the memorial in Independence Park.

He sat for a while. He knew it would be dark soon. He had spent the whole day here. In the library.

"God," Xander mumbled as he walked out the doors, looking at the cross embedded in the ground in front of the building. The Celtic cross was all over Boston. Even a few of the public transformations had it painted on them. "I am such a loser. If Faith ever found out I spent all day here..."

That thought brought him to a screeching halt.

Faith.

He had been dodging her for a month now. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore.

He cared for Faith; at least he could say that much. But the friendship that he had with her was strained at the moment. Whether it would break or get stronger he didn't know. And with what he was going through, maybe it would be best if she was gone.

He was going crazy. He had to be. And if Faith was gone, with her new sugar daddy, it would be for the best.

He had wandered the streets 'til it was almost morning. The night called to him – the shadows would bring out places and people that he didn't know he knew.

He sometimes felt like he was losing himself in his own mind. The only thing keeping him sane at the moment was his ID card. It would get warm or cold, and one time it had even jumped. It was that bit of strangeness that kept him sitting down and just losing himself in his mind.

Finally, he made it to M Street park. As he looked at the names there, he could recall how each and everyone had served, and how they died.

Just then, he felt eyes on him. Looking up, he saw the dark eyes of Faith. She was walking toward him, only to have some guy jump her. He started to move toward her, but as he moved, she spun the man around.

The guy's face was deformed. Yellow eyes looked out with no sense of life in them, like the eyes of a shark.

His mind's eye saw this, and then he saw other battles. Creatures like this were all about and he was commanding them. And the hunger – it was all consuming.

Then Faith drove a stake into the creature, and as it turned to dust, Xander turned and ran. He could feel Faith behind him. She was moving fast, just like those creatures. He could feel something telling him to kill her, and telling him how to do it.

A fast painless kill and it would be all over.

Then he could go find his brothers.

Then the three could rule again.

At the next turn, Xander saw what he needed: a truck was slowly pulling away from the curb. As it passed him, he jumped up and pulled himself into the covered back. Sliding into the shadows of the truck's interior, he could see Faith standing on the corner and looking around.

She was hunting him, the voice whispered. He needed to take her out before she took him out. It would be so simple. She was too good a fighter in hand to hand and too strong from what he had seen to fight her on an even terms.

A rifle would be best.

One shot, one kill.

And no more problems from her.

Sitting back Xander looked at the form of Faith getting small and smaller.

"One shot," Xander whispered, a smile so unlike his normal one on his face.

"One kill."

End Part Nine


	10. Chapter 10

1Faith stood at the corner, looking both ways up and down the street.

Her Slayer sense was pinging big time. There was danger here, just where she didn't know, but something was off.

She had walked the street three times and what ever it was still hadn't taken the bait. Hell, she had even faked a slip in the ice while standing in front of and alley – but nothing.

Looking around again, she noticed the comic shop. It was where Xander used to hang out all the time. It was his escape for everything. Thinking of him, and how messed up they were right then, got her thinking of all the times they had together. The times when she needed him and he had always been there.

And how he had needed her and she hadn't been there for him.

How safe it had felt in his bed with him beside her.

Looking around, she frowned. Then something in an upstairs window caught her attention. A flicker of shadows.

She sighed. Nothing. Time to wrap it up. One more trip and she would head in. It was cold out here and she needed something warm in her.

Across the street Xander stood in a room overlooking the street, a sniper rifle held tight in his arms.

It had taken a little while to find the weapon, but once he made contact with an IRA cell, it was easy. The Twins had always gone on and on about them, and how they were fighting for Ireland. Xander didn't know or really care about the their beliefs. Only that they had anything you could want.

The rifle was old, the stock had scratches in it. Kill marks, if he didn't miss his guess. This weapon had taken the lives of at least thirteen people. Other markings on it had meant that it had been issued to a solider in the Royal Marines.

When he picked up the weapon, he felt the man that used it and knew it like it had been in his hands for years. He knew about cover, and movement. Everything that the sniper had been trained to do.

Pulling the weapon up, he moved the cross-hair over Faith's head.

An easy shot. Only across the street.

She wouldn't know what hit her.

Then she frowned. That look. He had seen it just about his whole life. She was his friend. He… loved her. She was his sister? He sometimes felt so much more for her and, at the same time, less. But one fact came through clearly.

He couldn't hurt her.

And all the while, a voice in his head was telling him to shoot. To kill her. To take the battle to the enemy.

It was too much. He had to do what the voice wanted.

Xander started to pull the trigger again. He felt the sear pulling; just a little more pressure and she would be dead. Just as he was about to pull those last few grams of pressure, Faith looked up.

He gasped. She couldn't see him, he knew it. But she was looking right at him.

That face.

That sad face was almost the same one that crawled through his windows those many years ago. He couldn't do it. He flung the rifle away from him on the bed.

"KILL HER!!" the voice in his head raged. He could almost feel its presents in the room. It towered over him.

But he couldn't. Not his Faith. Looking at where the rifle lay, a thought stuck him.

The Sugar Daddy.

Faith was a normal girl. Whoever she had hooked up with had changed her. And if he just killed Faith, what would stop this person from getting someone else to come after him? Someone he wouldn't know.

That was it.

Cut the head off the snake off, and the body dies. Faith would become useless. She wouldn't have anyone to lead her against him.

And maybe she could be turned.

Brought over to his side.

Faith slid in the back door of the house she shared with Linda. There was a truck parked out front and she heard voices from the front room as she walked up. Male voices.

"We'll be sitting up across town and start the hunt. You are to keep your Slayer away from us and let us take out the problem," a man was saying to Linda.

"I don't agree with this," Linda replied. "If Faith found out."

"I don't care," the man snapped. "She's your problem and not mine. And if you had more control over her this wouldn't have happened."

"Are you sure about him?" Linda asked. From the tone of her voice, Faith was sure that it was not the first time it had been asked.

"Yes," the man said angrily. "His father works directly for the New York Branch of Wolfram & Hart. The boy works in a local storage facility. From what we can find out, he was placed in their long term storage area. And who knows what they keep there? We don't want have another Buffy running around."

"But she was a great Slayer," Linda protested wanting to protect her mentors charge.

"She was. . . good at Slaying. But she dragged in civilians. She allowed them to cloud her mind. She even has a Vampire working for her," The man said derogatorily.

"Wait," Linda said quickly. "Buffy is alive?"

Faith jumped. The other Slayer was alive? How? She had been told that when one died, the next one would be called.

"Yes," the man said, "she was revived by a civilian. After she let the Master out of his prison."

But Faith was no longer listening to them. She had eased up the back stairs to her room.

She wasn't the only Slayer anymore. She wasn't alone.

Alone.

That word stuck with her. She had left Xander. Alone. And he had left her alone.

How did the other Slayer deal with it – this Buffy?

She had been a Slayer longer than Faith. She wished she could talk to her, find out how she had became a Slayer. Maybe even be friends. Someone that would understand her. That had the cravings that she had.

Then it hit her – who was too close to her? Who had the Council sent these men to hunt? The only person she saw regularly was Linda, and from what she had heard, her Watcher was going to stay.

The Twins? No, they were off doing their own thing. She would meet up with them every now and then. She used to do it to keep taps on Xander, but they usually kept quite about him now. Said if she wanted to know, she should ask him. And then they'd leave big hints about were he was. That was, until he started to dodge her. Now, they were a brick wall. The guys sticking together against the women. It sucks, but it was the way of the world.

She heard the door of the van slam shut, before it pulled out into the icy roads. She couldn't wait 'til summer came. It seems like this winter had lasted forever.

But this summer, she wouldn't have Xander to hang with. To sneak off with and plan out their futures, sneak into movies try to talk him into sneaking into someone pool to skinny dip.

He had once told her he was going to go college. Use the skills he picked up on the team to at least get in, then find out what he wanted to do with his life.

She knew Joe had talked to him about the Navy. But he didn't want to leave people behind…

Her. It had always been an unspoken rule that he wouldn't leave her. And she had shot it to hell. She really couldn't even blame Linda. She had told her what to do, yes, but it was Faith that did it.

Faith, who had taken care of herself for years. She had lived on the streets for a short while. And some snooty Brit comes in and suddenly, it's whatever she wants.

She had ran her friend off. Her best friend.

"Son of bitch," Faith whispered as she jumped up from her bed. The Council would be going after Xan. Her Xander.

Faith took off down the stairs, her voice echoing in the house as she hit the first floor.

"Linda!" Faith couldn't describe the rage in her. These bustards were hunting her Xander.

"Faith?" Linda jumped as the Slayer startled her. She had not known she was home.

"Why?" Faith asked, tears were almost running out of her eyes. This place, this woman, was the closest she had ever had to family and home. The only time she had felt safe before was sleeping in Xander's bed with him watching over her. He had never tried anything. And to honest, at the time, neither one had really knew what to do. But she never would have stopped him if he had tried.

But he hadn't. He had just held her and kept the darkness away when she needed it.

And now these people were going to hurt him.

"Uh," Linda nodded. "You heard."

"Yes," Faith replied, almost biting the word.

"Your friend is not your friend anymore," Linda said.

"Try again," Faith replied, wiping angrily at her eyes.

"Your dream," Linda explained, "was a Slayer's dream.

"It gives warning of the future," she explained. "All Slayers have them to greater and lesser strength. It's a warning about what's going to happening. I reported it to the Council, and they found there were a few texts that told of the creature that WAS your friend.

"Once, long ago, there were four demons. So powerful they ruled the world. Each one had power over destruction. One's very touch was death. One would cause anything it touched to rot. And another could command the vermin and use them to his will.

"And the last – he was conflict in motion. He was the commander of their unholy army. He had hosts of Dragons at his command and demons by the score under his domination. His very presence on the battlefield caused whole armies to break and run. The others followed in his wake and still others took their name and used it over the millennia. But none matched them. The four are heralded as the bringers of the end of days.

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

"What has that got to with Xander?" Faith asked, a chill running up her spine.

"From what the Council has found out," Linda paused, "From what they know, he was infected by one of the Riders. Mostly likely, War. If your dream is to believed, he will grow stronger everyday, 'til what is left of your friend is gone. There is no stopping it once it starts. I am sorry, Faith."

Faith stood there, the shock of what she was told running through her mind. But one crystal clear thought above all else.

'Not my Xander.'

Outside.

It had started to snow again, the slush on the ground being covered by a new layer of white.

The creatures watched the house. They had let the humans leave, since they smelt of gun oil. And while the guns wouldn't hurt them, it would let their pray know that they were there.

It was close to sun-up and a van was at the ready. If the two followed their normal routine, they would come out to watch the sun come up.

Just as the creature finished this thought, out came the two women. He watched as they sat down, each holding a mug of cocoa.

He could hear them talking about Xander, or something like that. The Slayer wanting – no, demanding – to go help him, while the Watcher told her it was too late. From their tones, he knew the Slayer would go out on her own soon to help this Xander.

"Closer… closer," the creature whispered. And as soon as the two got within a few feet of the plant on the deck, he pressed a button.

A FLASH followed by a loud bang brought both women to their knees. Then, they poured out of the night. Vampires. Oh sure, they lost a few of the newbie on the girl but in the end, they won.

Trick stood back and smiled.

"I just love it when a plan comes together," the dark Vampire smiled as the Watcher and Slayer were thrown into the back of the van.

But unseen eyes were looking at him.

Across the street from the van and beside the Watcher's home, a figure lay on a roof top, his back to the warm fireplace chimney, a white blanket covering him.

Xander had set the post up to watch Faith. And time it so he could take out the woman she was living with.

He watched as these creatures took his Faith. He just knew that they would try to hurt his Faith, but there was nothing he could do at this time.

So he just sat and watched as the van pulled away.

The thought of these things hurting Faith caused his mind to come to a conclusion.

"Not my Faith."

His mind already planning.

Planning for war.

End Part 10.


	11. Chapter 11

1Part 11

The van.

That was the truck.

Xander stood outside of a warehouse at the docks. The Building was one of the older ones, and looked its age and then some. It was sat on pilings and hung out over the water. Most of the windows were painted black and all the doors were closed.

But the van didn't have any snow or even ice on it. It looked like it had just been parked.

"Could have been here when they had the tea party," Xander mused, watching the place. He had noticed as long as he was doing something, the Voice wasn't as strong. It was still there, but he was more of a whisper than a shout.

So he did anything he could think of to keep busy.

He hoped that Faith was alright, but he didn't know if she was still alive or not. Her life was what controlled his plans. He had one for getting her out, and another for pay back.

It had taken him all day to find this place. He had gotten a name off the side of the van as it had pulled away after the vampires had thrown Faith and her… Friend in the back. The name had lead him to a closed business. Which, in turn, had lead him to parking lot. It was down the street from where the warehouse stood. And then, a little money to a store clerk across the street from the parking lot.

And here he was.

The voice was in his head again.

Warning him about this it was foolish – to throw his life away for someone that didn't care about you. He had a greater mission: to bring his brothers back. To rule the world again. To bring chaos to order and order to chaos. To the blood. To the bone.

"She cares," he whispered back to the voice. Only to make it come back stronger, telling him how badly Faith had treated him. How she was out partying with all those guys, while he had sat a home alone and broken. How, as soon as he got a new life, he was left in the dust.

Shaking his head, Xander moved in closer to the building. As he closed in, he heard noises from inside.

Faith.

She was cussing, and fighting. Looking around, he saw where the sound was coming from. He noticed that the window pane was broken over his head.

Pulling a trash can over to the window, he jumped up looking into the darkened building.

Faith was chained to the floor. Her clothes were ripped, and blood stained them. But she was alive. Her friend was also bloody but not moving.

And standing over them was the biggest creature that Xander had ever seen. Its face was twisted and misshaped, his hands were hooves. A snarling laugher came from its mouth. Around the room were at least fifty of creatures like the ones that took them last night.

"Little Slayer," the creature was saying, "we're going to have so much fun with you."

Faith looked down at her friend and started to scream and pull at the chains, trying to get to the big monster, only to have them pull her back down to ground.

"Tonight," the creature said, "you will be mine. And then anyone else's who wants you. You and your Watcher here. We will use you. Then play with you. Then drain you.

"But only after you beg for it."

With that, the creature turned, walking back into the shadows, his cloven feet making a steady thumping noise.

That night.

Faith looked down at Linda. They had taken their clothes now. Both women were shivering in the cold. And they could feel the eyes on them.

Normally, Faith could walk around without clothes and not feel naked. In her mind, nude and naked were two different things. While she didn't want just anyone to see her without her clothes, it was no big deal.

But after been chained all day, she felt exposed more than ever.

Linda was almost crying beside her. They knew that they were dead. And both had came to terms with that. It was how they were to die that bothered them.

I didn't even get a chance to say bye to Xander, Faith thought again. He'll think I just left him again.

The large creature was back looking them over.

"Her," the creature said, pointing at Linda. "I want her first."

As the vampires moved to pull Linda away from Faith, her chain pulled more than it did last time. Still yanking on it and cursing the vampires, Faith glanced down at the eye-ring where the chain was embedded into the wooden floor of the building. It was loose.

She yanked harder and harder. And while it moved, it wasn't moving fast enough. Linda would be dead before Faith would get free.

Then she heard a noise.

A roaring that was getting closer and closer.

The vampires stopped to listen to the noise as well. Then it happened.

A truck came crashing backward through one of the big roll-up doors and skidded to a stop.

Then Xander got out.

He looked nothing like Faith had ever seen him. He was dressed in black and his hair was pulled back from his face. His eyes were cold as ice.

He looked at Linda, then the big Vampire, his eyes never changing. Then he looked at her.

And for an instant, her Xander was standing there.

But then he was gone, and the cold look was back.

It had taken him all afternoon to get what he wanted.

Then he had to steal a truck.

But looking around the room he knew it had been worth it.

"Hey Ugly!" Xander called out to the hulking vampire. "Let my girl go!"

Kakistos looked down the woman at his feet, then at the Slayer chained to the floor.

"Boy," the vampire said, looking as his servants moved around to block the kid's escape, "you've got some might big balls doing this." Then he sneered, "too bad I am going to rip them off."

"No," Xander said calmly. "You're not."

Then Xander held up a small box, a flashing light on the top. He put his thumb on top of the light and pushed and a high pitched beep cut through the warehouse.

"Boss!" Trick called out, walking up beside the huge Vampire. While Trick been dead for years, he kept up on all the new technology. You never knew when it might save your life. "That's a detonator."

"So," the head vampire snarled.

"Smell the air," Trick told his boss.

Taking in a deep breath, the vampire picked up the smells that usually filled his den, along with the smell of fear coming off the women.

But strangely, the boy wasn't scared. He was calm.

Then the smell of fuel and an earthy smell hit his nose.

"What is it?" the big Vampire asked.

"Oh, just a home-made little present for you. If you don't let my girl go," Xander told the big vampire calmly.

There was movement behind him, so he said, "Just a word of caution, big guy. If my hand comes off this switch, we all go boom."

As Xander said that, he felt more than heard all the motion in the rooms stop.

"You're bluffing," the big Vampire said.

"Try me," Xander said a feral smile on his face. "You're planning on killing my friend after you torture her for god knows how long. This way, it's painless. And if I have to go with her, then so be it. But I am not leaving her here."

"Let the Slayer go," the big vampire snarled.

As Faith came free, she stepped back as Xander threw her a jacket from inside the cap of the truck.

"Linda?" Faith asked, looking at her friend. She could tell he didn't like it, but she asked.

His Faith wanted the woman out of here. And to be honest, Xander did, too. He wouldn't leave anyone to be hurt the way the creatures would hurt them. And this Linda had been nice to Faith, at least getting her off the streets.

"The woman, too," Xander added.

Growling, the big vampire pushed the Watcher at Faith.

"Girls, out," Xander said not looking at them. He knew he couldn't lie looking at Faiths face. "I'll be out shortly."

Xander turned to watch them leave. He could see them almost reach the car he had waiting for them.

It was then he felt the hand on him as it clamped down over the detonator.

Outside was cold, and Faith could see a car parked across from where Xander had entered the building, a smiley face drawn on the window let her know this was waiting for them.

Just then, the world around her lit up, and the loudest sound she had ever heard roared.

She felt as if she had been hit with a ton of bricks and was flung into the icy slush on the ground.

Flipping herself back onto her feet, she saw the warehouse slowly sliding off its pilings. Having been built over the water, it was now slowly falling into it. What was left of it, anyway.

Everything from the ground floor up was gone or on fire.

She could see shapes as the vampires inside tried to get out, only to be caught in the flames and turned to dust.

Then with a last groan, the building fell into the icy waters and was gone.

"XANDER!!" Faith screamed.

End Part 11


	12. Chapter 12

1Part 12

While Faith had been getting her Watcher away, Xander stood facing down a room a vampires.

"You're not getting away," the big vampire told him. "I've been killing your kind for a thousand years."

"Yeah?" Xander said to the monster, while still watching his friend. "It's just too bad I don't care."

Then he felt a hand on his. He spun around to face a vampire holding his hand and keeping his thumb off the button.

"You know, boy," the hulking vampire said as he moved up," I'm not going to kill you right now. I want you to die seeing those two out there put through their paces. I'm going to hang you on that wall, where you can see your 'Girls' used. I think I'll use them both, first. Just to break them in. Then, once they're begging to be killed, I'll let you have a choice. You get to choose which one dies first."

Xander growled. The voice in his head was going on, calling him all kinds of fool for not watching what he was doing.

"Yeah," Xander snarled, "your mother wears combat boots"

"Your death," the big Vampire smiled, "will be of legend."

Then Xander looked the vampire right in the face and smirked. "I am going to kill you. And you're going to die screaming."

The Vampire holding Xander's hand wrenched the detonator from his hand.

"Well," Kakistos said, "one of us will." With that, the big Vampire punched Xander and sent him flying across the room to crash into several crates, which flew apart with the impact.

The big vampire looked out the door and saw the women had almost made it to the car across the parking lot from the building.

He could also see the vamps start making a move, and saw that they would be out the door in just a moment. Soon after, they would have the women again.

Then the boy coughed again.

"For someone with such a big head," Xander said as he got up, "you've got a really little brain."

Growling, the big vampire turned, then stopped. The child was holding a piece of the crate he had crashed into, and the point was aimed at him.

Kakistos started to laughed.

"Boy," the monster laughed, "I might turn you yet. You are a wonder. Still fighting the losing battle. I am old enough that those little things don't hurt me!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Xander smiled. "I wasn't going to stake you."

And with that, Xander threw the wood missile at the vampire standing closest to the truck. The one still holding the detonator.

Trick, who had moved across the room a few minutes ago, as soon as he found out about the bomb, dove for the exit just as the impromptu stake entered the vampire's chest.

Xander fell to the floor as the bomb went off.

He could see piece of the truck flying around the room, along with the burning twisted metal, waves of flames and splintered pieces of wood. He watched as a large burning piling stuck Kakistos. The huge vampire screamed as the wood hit his heart at the same time the flame took him.

"Told you you'd die screaming." Xander mumbled as the floor jerked under him. He felt the wood giving way, and then he was dropping into the cold water. As he hit the water, he noticed that the voice was gone from his head.

He rolled into the cold water and a last thought crossed his mind before the blackness took him.

"I like the quiet."

Xander became aware of a pulling. He was being pulled toward the light, and he turned toward whatever it was that was pulling him.

It was an angel.

A naked angel.

A naked beautiful angel.

So, this is heaven, he thought.

Then the light faded again.

The world brightened again.

This time – the Angel was kissing him? He could feel her breathing into his mouth and the dark hair on the angel laying across his face.

He coughed, bay water rushing from his lungs. The dark haired angel was hugging him, her nude body pressed against his.

He felt another woman hugging him from the other side. He hugged them back, more on instinct than anything else.

As his arms wrapped around the women, he felt things. His hands closed on to very nice sized things, one on each of the women.

"Xander. I almost lost you." the dark haired one was saying.

Then it became clear. Faith and her friend were hugging him. Faith was nude, and the older woman was only wearing Xander's jacket.

He slowly looked between them, trying to focus on them.

"If this is what I get for almost drowning," Xander asked, smirking and trying to clear his blurry eyes, "what do I get for blowing up the bad guys?"

As he tried to remove his hands, so the women didn't notice that they were there, he became aware of the look that they were giving him.

They'd noticed his hands, all right.

"In my defense," Xander said with look of pure innocence on his groggy face, "I am a guy. And I didn't know it was you."

"So I'm not good enough to grope?" Faith asked, as Xander's hands jerked away from her.

But she didn't get a reply as her friend had passed out.

The drive home was a trial on Linda. Neither one of the women could find anything to wear before they had to leave the scene of the fire, and they had to leave fast, because the police and fire trucks were just pulling on the street where the warehouse was.

They had to strip the wet clothes from the boy and wrap him in the only dry clothing they had to keep him from freezing. That was the jacket he had given Faith.

So she and Faith sat in the front seat of the car, showing the world all they had, while Xander laid out in the back seat and got concerned looks from her charge every few minutes.

Another truck passed them, blowing its horn, and Faith just waved at them. She was enjoying the looks she was getting.

"Faith," Linda said for the fifth time, "cover up, or sit lower in the seat."

"Why?" Faith asked smirking at her Watcher, just as another truck blew its horn. "This makes a girl feel all special."

Linda frowned at her Slayer, but ignored it for the real chore of getting into their home.

The street in front of the house was narrow and each of the yards small. Linda had deliberately picked the neighborhood for that reason. It looked perfect, a working class place where she and her Slayer could come and go and no one would notice.

But now, looking at the house and the people walking around, it was not as perfect as she once though. The driveway only went as far as the side of the house.

And standing in the neighbor's yard were a group of teenage boys, looking once again at Faith.

She shook her head.

"I'm going to be sent away," Linda whispered to herself. "Running around with a naked teenager, and a naked, near drowned boy. I'll be lucky if Travers doesn't send me to Antarctica."

Faith smirked again, having overheard her Watcher.

"Cheer up," Faith said as the car crept to a stop as close to the door as she could get. "At least it's night." Then Faith was out the door dragging the still sleeping Xander with her.

As Linda opened her door and moved to the side door, she could hear the boys next door start to whistle at them and cat-calls soon followed. Linda felt a blush going all the way to her toes.

"Hey, ladies" one of the older boys called out, "you need a man to replace that boy?"

"Nah," Faith called back. "He's just a little winded. He already rang the bell five times. And I'm not letting him go 'til he can hit number six."

The boys whooped and hollered back. Linda was just thankful she didn't need to bend down to the get the key to get in. The vampires had hit them so fast earlier that morning that she had never locked the door. Linda and Faith had just walked out to watch the sun and had planned to go right back in after it rose.

Once inside, Faith rushed Xander into her bedroom. The boy had came to, again, but quickly went out again.

Linda had rushed to her room to dress, after which she returned to the living room. She was still sitting on the couch, looking at the phone when Faith walked back in.

"You call them?" Faiths asked calmly.

"No," Linda replied. "And I don't really know why I haven't."

"Good," Faith said, biting her lip. "Linda, you're the closest thing I have to family. You've given me a home, taken care of me, helped me. So it's hard for me to say this... but of you call the Council, I will kill you. And as many as those bastards as show up.

"Xander is closer to me than family. He has been with me my whole life. And NO ONE is taking that away from me. Understand?"

"Faith," Linda said, sitting up and looking that the younger woman, "that young man saved our lives. He stopped that monster from doing God knows what to us before he killed us. And while doing that, he killed one of the worse creatures that has ever at walked the earth.

"I was not going to call them. That was what I was thinking. Faith, I am a Watcher; my family have all been Watchers going back as far as the histories go. I should call them. They told me he is a danger. And it's my duty to call them.

"But that young man walked into that place without ever planning on walking but again. He was going to die for us. And he doesn't even know me. I can't turn my back on someone that does that for me."

Faith stood for a moment then moved and sat beside her Watcher.

"Thanks."

"But of course. That is what family is for, anyway."

Both of the women smiled at each other.

Xander came aware again.

The sun was up and shining and it was a sight that he never thought to have again. He took a deep breath, and he could smell Faith's scent. The smoky, spicy smell from her cigarettes and perfume was all over the sheets.

Just as he drew in the breath, he realized it was a mistake. His ribs HURT.

Then he remember the water, and the angel pulling him out. He could remember a blond woman sitting across his waist as she pushed on his chest, trying to clear the water in his lugs.

And Faith sitting next to him, breathing air into him.

Then he felt movement on the bed with him.

Faith.

She was curled up on the other side of him, facing the door, watching out for him in his sleep.

Xander smiled and started to move to get out of bed, when he noticed that he was missing something. Slowly, he picked up the blankets and sheets that covered him. Nothing. Where the hell were his clothes?

Just then, Faith moved beside him. And before the sheets had settled back, he got an eye full of her nude form as well.

He blushed and slammed the coverings back to the bed, causing it to bounce. Faith let out a small moan, then looked at her friend.

"You woke me from a great dream," Faith told her friend, as if sleeping in the nude with him was something that they had done all the time.

"Faith?" Xander asked, his voice ragged.

"Don't try to talk too much," Faith replied, putting a hand on his face." You took a lot of bay water into your lungs. Linda said you should be ok, but you might be sore for a few days."

"You ok?" Xander croaked out.

"Yeah, Five by five," Faith said, snuggling toward him.

Xander's eyes went wide, and he pulled the covering tighter around him.

"Come on, X," Faith said, pulling the sheets back and moving to his side. "I've already seen little Xander. No need to be shy."

"First thing - little? Hey, it was cold out, it always causes a little shrinkage," Xander said, a little defensively, to Faith's amusement.

"Second, the last time I saw you naked we were nine, and I walked into my shower which you snuck into so you use it because yours was broken, and forgot to lock the door."

"Well, think of this as payback," Faith said, with a laugh. "I thought I got to see the grown up you."

"Well... Yeah," Xander said, not really knowing what to say when you wake up in bed with your best friend. Even one that you're mad at.

"Let's get up and get something in you before that black hole you call a stomach starts to make noise and Linda thinks the demons are back."

With that, Faith jumped out of bed and started to dress. Xander just lay there, watching her.

So much had changed about her in the last few years. He knew that she had done things with other people, but there was still an innocence there that he could see, and most people overlooked.

"When you're finished looking at my tits..." Faith said, looking at Xander.

"Well, they're such nice ones," Xander replied before he thought about it. Then his eyes widened and he blushed all the ways to his toes.

"Good one," Faith yelled with a laugh and threw him a t-shirt and sweet pants.

"The shirt's yours," Faith said. "I stole it a few years ago. The pants are one of Linda's ex's that she packed when she came here."

"No underwear?" Xander asked, looking the pile of clothes. He still hadn't moved.

"Nope," Faith smirked, her eyes going smoky. "Unless you want to wear a thong."

She held up the bit of lace and elastic.

"Uh, no thanks. No butt floss for me," Xander said, looking at Faith, then looked again, then looked at her and nodded to the door.

Faith just stood there, looking at him a smile getting bigger all the time.

"You want to leave so I can get dressed?" Xander finally asked.

"Nope," Faith replied leaning back on her dresser.

"Faith. Come on," Xander begged.

"Still not leaving. I don't leave boys in my room. You might do things with my underwear," Faith said. Then, using the elastic of the thong she was holding, she shot the underwear at Xander, hitting him in the face.

"She shoots, she scores."

Xander reached up and grasped the garment from his face, looking at Faith, then at her underwear that he was holding. It was strangely arousing.

"If it does any good," Faith said, "like I said, I already saw little Xander. And you grabbed my and Linda's tits last night."

"Not helping." Xander said , pulling the sheets tighter. "Uhhh. So not helping."

Xander and Faith had finally made it downstairs, and were busily working on breakfast when Linda walked into the room.

"How are you this morning?" Linda asked, looking at the boy.

"Ok," Xander said, still not looking at her. While they had been working on breakfast, Faith had told him the whole deal: that she was a slayer, and Linda was her Watcher.

It was hard to swallow at first, but the voice in his head had returned and said it had heard of similar things before. At least, it had heard of a Slayer and the old Wise men that followed her. Xander had come to believe what the voice was telling him, and far as he knew, it had never lied to him. Though, it wasn't a nice voice by any means. It was about conquest, and destruction, and bringing the world to his will.

But when Linda walked in, he felt guilt.

Xander was going to kill her – someone that had helped Faith. Someone that had helped the world. And he was going to kill her because Faith had hurt his feelings. \

Faith could tell something was wrong with her friend but decided to keep to herself for now.

The breakfast was strained, to say the least. Faith was trying really hard to have her favorite people get along. While Xander was withdrawn (more so than he had been in a while), how do you eat at a table and smile at its owner, when you had just been planning her death only the day before?

And, in turn, Linda was watching the boy.

Was he a danger? He didn't seem to be. She needed advice. But who could see ask?

Then it hit her.

"Giles."

She would call him.

End part 12.


	13. Chapter 13

1Faith watched as Linda pulled away. Her Watcher would be gone for at least a week, maybe more. It all depended on Travers.

Faith had stood back while watching Linda talk to that Giles guy and realized that it came down to talking to the Boss-man. He was the only one that could call off the dogs on her boy. And after talking to Travers on the phone, he wanted her to come to England to talk about it face-to-face. He would have the Council Goons stand down 'til this was settled, though.

Just as the taxi turned the corner, Faith waved. Then a grin played across her face.

"Alone at last," she whispered looking back over her shoulder.

Xander coughed again.

He still felt bad; his chest felt tight, and it was hard to breath, but he was getting better.

And the voice was back.

It hadn't been talking to him as much lately. Xander put that down to almost dying. He didn't think the voice understood the concept, so it was just watching. Planning more likely.

He was just sitting down to watch TV when in bounced Faith.

"We're going out," she announced as she looked him over.

"But," Xander protested, "Linda said. . ."

"Linda's gone," Faith replied, cutting him off. "We need to go out. Have fun."

"Faith..."

"Xan," Faith said putting her hands on her hips, "we're young. No parental supervision. WE'RE going out."

Xander fell back into his seat. He had lost. He knew it. Faith knew it. He knew she wanted to make up for running off on him. And in a typical Faith move, it involved dancing.

"Ok," Xander finally said, "You win."

"Of course," Faith said, swishing her hips as she walked out of the room, "I'm a girl.

"We always win."

Jaggers.

Faith moved on the dance floor.

She was lost in the music, so into it that she never even noticed that Xander had left the floor and was sitting at a table drinking a beer watching her. She didn't even notice the guys that were around her.

At least as long as their hands didn't get too friendly. But so far, just a look was enough for hands to stay away from sensitive areas.

But while Faith was having the time of her life. Xander wasn't. Not that he didn't like to dance, if you call what he did dancing.

Here he was, out with a hot girl. But it was one that he couldn't touch.

Not that he didn't want to.

But Faith was a friend. She had made that point clear enough.

He wanted more, but she wanted a good time. And he knew from what he had heard about her lately that she was not into being tightened down with one guy.

Hell, she was dancing with three guys right now. And she'd jumped from at least five others while he was on the floor with her.

And from his deep understanding of himself, he knew he was one woman kind of guy. He didn't share with others very well.

And Faith, from what he had seen over the last few years – Hell, from just the last few minutes - was anything but a one guy type of girl.

Out on the floor.

"Xan..." Faith only then began to notice the guy she was with wasn't Xander.

"Who are you?" Faith asked him as he moved his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Mark," the guy said with a smile, one that didn't really match up with his face. The smile came off kinda slimy. And she didn't want anything to do with it. She had thought it was Xander she was dancing with, and then to find out she wasn't kind of threw her.

Looking around the club, she finally saw Xander.

"Why'd you leave me out there?" Faith asked as she walked up to her friend.

"Didn't feel like dancing anymore."

Then a noise off to the side drew his attention off to a table near by.

Karen.

She was sitting with a few girls from the cheerleading team. And they weren't alone.

Troy was sitting there. As Xander watched, Troy moved in on Karen. Soon, they were kissing. And it hurt. Just a few short weeks ago, that would have been him.

The voice in his head started to rage. While it really didn't understand love, it did understand passions.

Troy looked up and saw Xander. He smirked.

Then everything changed.

Buffy was sitting down to watch TV.

It was a dead night, but she would go out on patrol later. Willow was beside her, and Dawn laid out on the floor in front of them. They had just finished with Chick flick number two of the night and were heading into number three.

Jessie had made himself scares that night. Something about too much female hormones for him to deal with.

As Willow put the VCR tape back in its case, the news came on.

Buffy was only half watching it, since her mind was on the new big bad - Spike.

Just then a breaking story came in.

A club shooting in Boston thirteen people dead.

"He's cute," Buffy heard Dawn say. Looking up, she saw a picture fill the screen. A dark haired boy looked back at her.

"This is Alexander Harris. He is wanted in connection with the shootings at a local club," the talking head on the screen said, as the picture blurred to a bar scene.

The boy was sitting at a table, with another girl. Across from them, another guy got up and walked up to them. Something was said and the girl jumped up.

Just as she did, the camera jumped and blurred. The next thing they could see, the girl was on the ground, and three men were shooting into the room and the boy was diving behind tables and booths moving toward them.

Once there, he took one of the shooters down without seeming to pause. He pulled the gun from the man and as he did, he seemed to change. Pulling up the machine gun, he opened up on the other two men, dropping one, and causing the other to pull back.

Behind him, another man was pulling the girl that had sat with him to the door of the club. Then the camera blurred again. This time, the boy was standing in the middle of the room. The girl was gone, but the men that he fought were still there.

He was standing over them, looking down at them. The people that had been in the club when it had started were huddled into the corner. The boy smiled and asked the men something, then just walked away.

The TV turned back to the new person.

"After leaving the club, Mr. Harris drove across town, where he attacked a law enforcement officer, kidnapped a young woman and fled the city. He is also wanted for questioning involving an explosion on the docks earlier this week that caused millions of dollars in damage," the announcer stated.

"Any one with knowledge of Mr. Harris is asked to call the police. Do not approach him, as he is considered armed and dangerous."

"Huh," Willow said looking at the TV. The boy looked familiar to her but from where she didn't know. " At least we don't have gang shoot-outs here, too."

"Yeah," Buffy replied, "my life could always suck more."

"Buffy," Dawn warned her sister, "don't say that."

"Dawn," Buffy replied looking at her sister. She wasn't happy about it, but Dawn had found out about her slaying a few weeks ago, when she had been caught in the middle of her fight with Spike and the Parent-Teacher night. "I kill monsters. It can't get in worse than that."

Later that night.

Buffy moaned in her sleep as the dream overtook her.

She was standing on the plains. Across from her, the sky was darkening and creatures were running out from the darkness in terror because something was following them.

Then she heard the sound of hoof beats.

A huge blood soaked horse came from out of the darkness, its rider covered in gore-spattered armor. Weapons hung from him and a chain ran from his chest to that of a girl on a smaller horse. The chain dipped into the girl's shirt and disappeared around her heart.

She smiled up at the blood soaked rider.

Buffy then saw Giles standing in front of them, along with others dressed like him, each one in their tweedy best, with books held like shields in front of them. Others mixed in among them were carrying guns.

They fired at the riders but nothing was happing. Then Vampires came at the riders, and the girl jumped from her horse and attacked the vampires.

As Buffy watched, it became obvious that the girl was a Slayer of some kind. Her moves were just too good for her not to be.

Then others came at them again.

This time, the men in suits were not the Council, but something older. The leader of the group held a leash - three of them, actually.

Each one lead to an animal. A wolf. A ram. And a deer.

The battle that stretched across the field was horrible. The attackers attacked the armored man as much as they attacked each other.

Buffy saw Giles fall back, and a blonde woman, a Watcher from her outfit, stood in front of him, stopping him from attacking the girl, only to have another Watcher stab Giles in the back.

As the battle raged, Buffy moved. Soon, she was almost in the middle of it.

A path lead to freedom behind her and the creature stood in front of her, towering over her.

Then Willow stood beside the creature. She smiled and kissed the armored cheek.

Willow's smile was unlike she had ever seen on the redhead. Willow was a sad, drawn girl, that never let anyone in. Buffy had been lucky to even get her to talk when they first met.

And if not for wanting help with her homework, Buffy wouldn't have even noticed the girl at all.

To see her smile like that was scary.

Something was...corrupting her friend.

All fighting stopped. Everyone was looking at her.

Then a voice cut through her.

"The choice is yours."

Then the images jumbled, one on top of the other. The figure. The girl. Giles and the blonde woman. Even her mom and Dawn were there.

But most striking of all was Willow.

Then Buffy woke up.

"Not another one," Buffy complained as she pulled her pillow over he head.

She just gotten rid of the Master, and hadn't even fought with Spike but the one time.

And now another Big Bad was coming here.

"Can my life suck more?"

End part.


	14. Chapter 14

Buffy was upset.

Law enforcement.

That's what her career day test said. She was supposed to be a cop! Sure, she liked donuts, but she didn't think they should cater to stereotypes.

Meanwhile, Willow had been drug off behind the curtain, by some men in black type guys.

But for her, the Slayer, it was going to be donuts, coffee, and polyester. Where is the fairness of the world? Even Cordy had great test results.

And Jessie - who'd have thought he'd was suitable to be a doctor? He hung out with Willow, so she knew he was smart, and the study sessions that they had thrown together did prove he had a brain.

But a doctor?

Her life Sucked.

"We there yet?" Faith asked again from the backseat of what they had loosely called a car. It was some foreign job that looked like some unholy mating between a Yugo and a Gremlin. It had no room inside and didn't go fast, but it got great gas mileage. But it had turned out to be a great get away car because no one really looked at the car twice. Well, once they stopped laughing and wondering how it was still going.

"Yes, Faith," Xander said as he drove down the street.

"Then why haven't you stopped yet?" she asked from the backseat. He didn't have the courage to look back at her, 'cause there was no telling what she was doing.

And after having been in the same room when she was having her private time, who wants to her hear a girl moan like that when you can't touch her?

Not that Faith would have stopped him.

He was sure that it would be the other way. He might be slow around women, but it was impossible to be that slow. Faith had all but invited him into bed with her.

But he couldn't do it. Not and be just friends.

He didn't do the casual hook ups. And if he had, then when she got bored and found another guy one night...

No, he could deal with that.

"Because we're not there," Xander told his friend.

"Then why'd you say we were ?" Faith asked as her head popped up from the back seat.

"You've asked that same question for the last thirty miles," Xander smirking at her, "and I got bored giving the same answer."

Faith glared at the back of his head, then smiled and thumped his ear before sliding back under the blanket she had spread out over the backseat.

"You..." Xander grumbled, rubbing his ear.

"You better not finish that," Faith interrupted him. "Unless you want to come back here and say it?"

"Uh," Xander said. "Hey, look at that, we're here."

"Xander..." Faith said from under her blanket.

"No, really we're here," Xander said as he pulled into the parking lot.

After parking the small car in an out of the way spot, the duo started to look around the grounds of the Sunnydale High school.

"You're sure that there's a Watcher here?" Xander asked. "I mean, it's a high school."

"It's where Linda said he was," Faith replied pulling up her jeans.

While she looked hot wearing them, it was a bitch to sleep in them, especially in the back seat of the car.

She noticed Xander's glance back, then his head turning and looking forward again. It was these little thrills that made her day: getting loud while scratching the itch that he wouldn't; walking around the hotels in her underwear.

"Well, we're here," Xander said getting out of the car and looking around the parking lot as Faith wiggled her jeans over her hips and buttoned them up.

"You know, you could wear jeans that aren't that tight," Xander told her.

"Yeah I could," Faith said with a sexy smile at him. "But then I wouldn't look this good."

"Hey," Xander said, looking around once again at the empty parking lot, "I have an uncle that lives here."

"At school?" Faith asked, smirking at her friend.

"No," Xander said throwing her an irritated look. "Sunnydale. My uncle Rory's supposed live here. I heard mom and dad fighting about it one time. We almost moved here before I was born so dad could work with him."

"Huh," Faith said, looking around one more time, then sitting back in the car to lace up her boots. "I almost didn't know you."

That thought cause both to stop and look at each other, as a chill ran down each of their spines.

The very thought of not knowing each other was just too strange to put into words.

Faith and Xander broke up as soon as they entered the school, both heading off in different direction for the Library.

Xander wandered the hallways. From the outside, the school looked on the small side, at least to him. This school would have only taken up their old schools parking lot, and still have room to spare.

Though that being said, the school was still big and spread out.

Faith headed to the back of school. She though the library should be back there, while Xander headed for the noise.

He had thought that the hall he was in would put him in the middle of the school and thus, where the library should have been.

Turning a corner, he saw how wrong he could be - a big banner was hanging over the hallway.

"Career Day" was written across it and all down the hall and into some of the class rooms were booths. Each one had students standing around them, along with and equal number of adults.

"Great," Xander mumbled as he moved into the people. He slouched down and moved into the crowds.

He was still waiting for the cops to catch him, 'cause he just knew everyone he saw knew who he was and would turn him in.

The only person he trusted at the moment was Faith. He knew she wouldn't turn him in.

And Faith trusted Linda.

It was the sole reason they were here.

This Giles guy was Linda's friend and would help him. Or at least that was the hope. It was that hope that brought him here to Sunnydale.

But the voice told him otherwise. It didn't mind being here. It wanted to be here. The feel of the place was "right" to it.

But the reasoning behind coming here wasn't: Mortals just betray you.

He was standing next to a cute blonde girl when he noticed that cop standing there.

"Ok, losing Xan," Xander muttered as he pulled back from the cop.

The Blonde girl was watching him. She was acting like she knew him.

As he was turning, he noticed the cop's hand.

A ring. It bore a crest. One that he knew.

Or at least the other in him did.

Teraka.

That low brotherhood of killers. Those dishonorable scum that weren't worth the time it took to kill them.

He stopped turning just as the assassin was calling out names.

As she called out names, the assassin was watching the group before her, not noticing that she too was being watched.

As she hit the name Buffy Summers, the assassin pulled out a gun and started to shooting.

At least that was the plan.

As Buffy said, "Here," something slammed into her knees, knocking her to the ground.

As Buffy hit the ground butt-first, she saw the dark haired boy moving in on the cop who was firing blindly at the kids.

Then, to her horror, Willow walked out of the back room, just as the cop fired again.

Only to have the boy dive on her, driving the red-head down and knocking her to the ground with a shrill scream.

Willow felt herself looking into the nicest eyes she had ever seen.

The dark eyes looked at her and she felt almost like they were talking to her.

"I'm… I'm ok," she whispered. The boy nodded, then was gone.

Chasing after the cop.

Just as the two had cleared the room, Willow heard Jonathan ask, "Was that a demonstration?"

Outside.

Xander was chasing the assassin and almost had her until a troll of a man stepped out in front of him as he turned the corner.

It surprised Xander, who just reacted.

Xander's hand shot out, clipping the man on the cheek and spinning him around. Then, as the man spun around, Xander's leg shot out, hitting the man behind the knees.

The blow sent the man to the ground. As Xander came up, he was looking around.

The Assassin was gone.

Looking down at the man laid out before him, it was obvious that he didn't work with the fake cop.

Looking around he knew he just made another mistake.

"Oh boy."

Buffy was almost dragging Willow into the library.

"Giles!" she called out as she entered the room, only to notice a dark haired girl talking to her Watcher.

"Buffy, please," Giles almost snapped.

"But Giles," Buffy almost whined, "Gun shots, killer cops, and strange boys."

The girl had turned and Buffy stopped. She was familiar.

Then it hit her.

The dream.

It was her.

"Who? What?" Giles asked her as she came to a complete stop looking at the other girl.

"Its HER!" Buffy exclaimed, causing Giles to spin around looking wildly about the room. When her Watcher once again turned back to his Slayer, she said, "THE her, from the dream."

"Yeah, I am a her," Faith said looking at the blonde like she was insane. "Don't know about being THE her."

"Oh dear," Giles replied, as Buffy moved in to protect her Watcher. "Buffy no!"

But it was too late; the blonde Slayer had gone into attack mode.

But again, nothing was going the right way that day.

Buffy attacked what she thought was a normal girl. Sure, one that was hooked up with some great evil, but normal just the same.

And found out that looks are not always what they were again.

As Buffy grabbed the girl to pull her away from Giles, Faith moved.

At first, Faith thought that it was funny the way Buffy was acting. But as soon as she touched Faith, it changed. No one touched her, not that way.

The smile that had started on Faith's face stopped and was replaced with a frown.

Faith then reversed the grasp of the other girl's grip. Then Faith spun around slamming Buffy to the ground.

"Look, blondie," Faith snapped. "Hands off. Ok?"

"Buffy," Giles said looking down at his slayer, "This is Faith. She is the charge of a friend of mine."

Buffy just sat there on the floor. She looked up at the dark haired girl in shock at the ease with which the girl had handled her.

No one should have been able to throw her around. Well, no one normal. She was the Slayer after, all.

Just then, the dark-haired boy that had knocked her down came charging into the room, only to smash into Willow, who had not moved since she had been drugged in by Buffy and had stood there stunned as Buffy had been thrown to the ground.

The impact of Xander knocked Willow off her feet.

And after a small roll, she ended on the ground again.

With the boy laid out across her.

"Hey," Xander said with a smile. "We need to stop meeting like this or people will start talking."

"Talking about what?" Willow asked quietly.

Then she noticed how the boy was laying on her and how her legs were open, causing her to let out a small "Meep."

Willow quickly pulled herself away from the boy and after getting to her feet, she ran into Giles' office.

Faith watched the girl go.

"Way to go, Xander. You broke her."


	15. Chapter 15

Buffy frumped as she sat down in the library.

Across from her, the new girl Faith was sparing with her friend Xander. He wouldn't spar with her and it kind of made her jealous. It wasn't her fault that she call Faith a slut.

"Well, maybe it was," Buffy thought. "But Faith was the one that kept bringing up sex."

Willow was seating across from Buffy, and every so often Buffy could see Willow's eyes move over to the boy, then jerk her eyes back before anyone noticed.

They had been there all afternoon. Giles had gone into his office to make some phone calls, trying to find out about his friend, the girl's guardian. But so far nothing. It had taken so long that the out-of-towners had gotten bored. Faith had tried to talk to Buffy, but the blonde had shut her down, between the dream and what Faith wanted to talk about. After all, Buffy was a GOOD girl, and good girls didn't talk to strangers about sex.

Xander had tried to talk to the redhead, but she wouldn't say anything to him – just make some throat noise, maybe a few other sounds, then she would shut up and stare at her computer.

He had been left out of the conversation between Buffy and Faith. That was 'til Buffy called her a slut. Then it was Xander to the rescue. At least, rescuing Buffy from getting her ass kicked by his pissed off friend.

Just then the door of the library opened and in walked a girl in a cheerleader outfit, followed by guy in t-shirt and jeans.

"Buffy!" the guy called, then came to a stop as he saw Xander and Faith moving around each other.

Well, actually, when he saw Faith.

Faith, because of her life around her mom, was hyper aware of the looks a male gave her so she started her flirty moves - a little too much sway of the hips, while looking like she didn't notice.

Xander for his part rolled his eyes.

And tried a low sweeping kick at Faith legs.

The Cheerleader stopped and looked at the couple sparring, then her boyfriend.

Cordy had given in to the boy last year. Both of the teens had gone to LA for the summer, and by chance met at a party. Jessie's parents knew the owners of the home, and Cordy's parents also knew the owners, but the teens didn't have the faintest ideal who anyone was but each other. So they ended up spending the whole party together.

The party was where Cordy found out she liked the boy. Mostly.

And Jessie found out the Cordy was not just another pretty face. Not that she didn't have one. And a nice body on top of that. But while he had drooled over her for years, it was there that he finally met HER.

As Cordy watched the dark-haired girl was moving again with the boy across the room. But now, it seemed as if every move was to show off her body.

As her boyfriend was about to drool as he watched, Cordelia did the only thing a girlfriend could do in that situation. She smacked her boyfriend up side the head.

Buffy looked over at her friends at the sound of the smack. At least life was normal with them.

After a glare at her boyfriend, Cordy stomped over to the table were Buffy was sitting.

"So is it world end-age?" she snapped, giving Jesse one last glare before sitting down with the other girls.

"No," Buffy said still not taking her eyes off the boy and the girl, who had started to laughed while they spar. Well, it really wasn't sparing any more, more like playing.

Why couldn't she have a sparing partner like that? Giles was ok, but he didn't know the meaning of the word fun.

"So who's the bimbo and the freak?" Cordy asked, looking over at the two playing again.

This time the boy had the girl around the waist, lifting her off the ground with one arm and the other was tickling her. Every now and then, you could get a flash of stomach and the bottom of the girls bra.

Cordy turned to look at her boyfriend who busily looking at his school books. Nope, he was looking at the girl. Cordy let out an amused snort, and let him get away with if for now. If he wanted to look, let him. But he better not say anything about her if she wants to look at some guys.

"They are friends of a friend of Giles," Willow said, still not looking at anyone.

Cordy frowned at the red head. She thought she had gotten the girl over this. She knew she had made the girl's younger life hell - and she was sorry for that - but she knew that the young hacker was stronger on the inside than most.

And after finding out that she helped hunt vampires, the Cheerleader had gone out of her way to make up to Willow. It had worked so well that the redhead had actual talked in class yesterday.

Now, here she was back in that shell. Cordy glanced up at the too loud teens. If they had hurt her…

Buffy looked at Cordy, guessing what was on her mind.

"They didn't do anything," Buffy said quickly. She didn't want Faith to throw the cheerleader around. Well, not much.

"What happened to Willow?" Cordy asked as Jessie slide into the seat next to Willow.

"The boy talked to her," Buffy said. "He saved her life at career day, then talked to her here. Since then, she's been that way."

Willow sat there, quite used to people talking about her while she was present. Her parents did it all the time. They were very good doctors, but not so good parents and treated the girl like a scientific experiment.

"So, Will," Jessie asked. He had heard all about the shoot-out at career day, and just wanted to know about his friend. "Give."

"He makes my head go all woozy," the hacker said, still not looking up. "Then I can't talk. Just make some noise and then I have to go away."

"Will," Buffy said, "it's not that bad. Just talk to him."

Willow glanced up at her friends, then back to the screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"No," Willow said, "I am sure guys like a girl that can talk."

A laugh broke over them, looking up to see Faith standing behind them, Xander was across the room, drinking from a water bottle.

"Red," Faith said, "you got a lot to learn about guys. Talking's not what they want your mouth for."

"Oh Faith, gross," Buffy said as the redhead ducked her head down more.

"Well, just ask your stud here," Faith said, pointing at Jessie.

Jessie, for his part, looked at the girls then decided he needed some water too.

Xander stood by and watched the other male make a hasty retreat from the table of girls. All the while the eyes of said girls watched him go. Some with disgust, others with curiosity and one with humor.

"Faith put you on the spot, huh?" Xander asked as the boy got to him.

"What did I do to her?" the boy asked as he got to him.

"You looked at her like a piece of meat," Xander said simply. "Be glad that was all she did."

"But the way she dresses and acts?" Jessie asked, looking around the room to see if the girls were still watching him.

"Guy," Xander said, "a girl dresses how she wants to dress. And she doesn't mind the looks from someone that she is dating, but with you and the cheerleader there - she don't like guys that cheat.

"And to her those looks were as close to cheating, and my Faith doesn't take well to cheaters. Get me?"

Jessie stood there looking at the boy. Then back to the girls. Then it hit him.

"Your Faith?" Jessie asked, hoping he hadn't put his foot further in his mouth.

"Not like that." Xander laughed, "She's my Faith and I'm her Xander."

Buffy looked at the boys again.

"What do you think they're talking about?" She asked not really wanting an answer. Then the new boy laughed and she changed her mind. With that laugh, she really wanted to know what was going on.

"What else?" Faith said as she put her feet up on the table. "Us."

She said that as if she was explaining it to the stupidest person in the world.

"No duh," Cordelia said. "Guys only talk about one thing."

"So," Jessie was asking Xander, "what kind of Car you have?"

"I mean," Faith was telling the other two girls, "if you were in the room with four hot chicks like us wouldn't you be talking about it?"

"No, I kid you not," Xander was saying, "he threw the ball and it just fell in my hands. I couldn't believe it. Neither could the other team. He threw it blind, and no one was watching me. I took off. The only thing I forgot about was the other team's cheerleaders. Man, were they hot. I was running past them when one bent down to pick up a pompom. And then it was over - I stepped on my own foot.

"But hey, it was first down."

"Yeah," Buffy was saying starting to feel good that someone had noticed the effort she put in to looking good. "How could they not be talking about us."

Just then, Jessie started to laugh, and said, "Her Pom-poms?"

Faith looked at the cheerleader with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll kill him," Cordy said. "That was private.


	16. Chapter 16

Giles sat at his phone. He had almost tried every number he hag, but had gotten no answers at any so far. The last one would be Travers' contact number.

And he so didn't want to call that man.

While the man was a great administrator, he was also a pompous ass. He was nice enough in the beginning, at least 'til he was in power, but then he started to play people against each other, making sure that supplies would be delayed - at least 'til the one that needed them was removed - but never long enough to cause long term damage to the world.

So what if a few people were killed, as long as the Council survived.

After some hesitation, he made the call.

As Giles walked from his office he noticed the teens have divided up, the girls at one of the tables, while the boys stood around the counter drinking from water bottles.

He came to a stop as Willow squeaked. He glanced at her, as she drew up straight at started to look closely at the boy.

"You're him!" she gasped out. To which the boy, Xander, replied, "She speaks."

"Him who?" Cordy asked, as Buffy looked at the boy again, and Faith was looking nervous.

"Buffy," Willow said, then nodding her head toward the boy. "Boston. News. Remember?"

Buffy looked at the boy closer, then turning to look at Faith.

The faces.

The killers from Boston.

"You're the murderers," Buffy said, standing up.

Giles looked at the group; he needed to get control of this fast.

"Buffy, sit down."

"Giles," Buffy said moving toward Xander, "he's a killer!"

"I am well aware of that," Giles replied, bringing his Slayer to a stop.

"You knew?!?" Buffy said.

"Faith was explaining things when you stormed in this afternoon," Giles explained. "Trust me. I know what's going on."

"I just bet," Cordy mumbled, looking over the two new teens.

"You killed people?" Jessie asked, looking at the new guy as if he was some kind of dangerous animal.

"Well," Xander said, looking at Faith, then back to the boy, "Yeah. People don't hurt my girl."

Flash Back

Xander was still sitting, getting his breath, a beer on the table in front of him. How he wasn't carded, he didn't know.

Across from him, he could see Karen watching him. She looked worried, but her place in the hierarchy of school was more important than finding out what was wrong with an ex.

Troy was watching him as well. Then, with a smirk, he leaned in and started to kiss Karen. Karen, at first, was surprised that Troy was kissing her, but soon she returned it with gusto.

Then the room changed.

Xander felt the hair on his neck stand up. Danger.

And it was close.

A battle was building.

He looked around the club.

Nothing.

Then Faith called out.

He turned just in time to see the men.

Three of them. One fired some kind of dart gun into her back as two others grasped an arm and started to pull her away from the crowds.

And no one moved. It was like they saw this every day.

As the men pulled his friend away, a rage settled on him. A rage like nothing he had ever felt before and it felt so right. So good. The room seemed to get brighter, and more in focus. The smells got sharper.

For the first time he felt alive.

Faith had been watching Xander and saw his look. Then, following his eyes, she saw what he saw.

"Damn," Faith said. Now she felt like shit. She had dragged him out to have a good time, only to run into the bitch and the bastard. As she watched, she saw them kiss.

What a kick in the nuts, she thought, as she started to move over to start something with the people hurting her friend. Damn whatever Linda would say about that being below what a slayer had to deal with - this was her Xander.

Just as that thought ran across her brain, she felt a sting in her shoulder.

She slapped at it, but felt her strength leaving her. Then someone was at each arm. Two someones, one on each side.

Looking over to Xander, her last coherent thought was, "Xander."

Troy was smirking as he looked over at Xander. How he hated that bastard. A nobody that though he could stand up to him. But as he looked at the wimp, he saw that Xander wasn't even looking at him. Then he heard someone call out for Xander, and looked over just in time to see the slut being drug out.

Must be the cops, Troy thought. The bitch was probably turning tricks like her mom does and just got caught.

He had just finished that thought when her heard Karen gasp.

Turning back, he saw a man walking up behind Xander, a large pistol out in his hand.

The man put it to the back of Xanders head.

Xander had started to move to help his friend nut before he moved, he felt something poke the back of his head and he reacted.

Xander dropped and spun his leg out, catching the man by surprise. The force of the blow knocked the legs from under the man.

As the man hit the ground, Xander sprung back up, grabbing at the weapon in the air as it slipped from the falling man's hands.

As his hand came in contact with the weapon, Xander's whole demeanor changed.

Gone was the nice kid that everyone usually saw and in his place was a cold killing machine.

Because in that millisecond he saw what was going to happen to his Faith. What these... men were planning to do to her.

"No one hurts my girl," Xander snarled, and as the man's eyes widened, Xander pulled the trigger on the weapon and the large hand gun kicked in his hand.

As the man died, a little part of Xander worried over how good it felt. But it was instantly overruled because what these animals were going to do to Faith.

After the gun had fired, everyone in the place realized that something was going on and they all needed to be somewhere else.

As the crowds moved toward the doors, more gunmen opened up on him, not caring that people were in the way.

Xander dove under a table as the sound of the first gunshot, and he felt the tug on his jacket as the bullet pasted him to slam into a beer bottle.

Troy couldn't believe his eyes as the wimp just killed that man in cold blood. He froze in place as more gunshots filled the dance floor. He could see three other men moving toward Xander with machine guns.

Karen had locked on to his back, looking around him at the dance floor, both flinching with each shot.

From under a table, Xander gasped. He was trapped, and they had Faith. He didn't know what to do; Joe had never shown him how to use a gun.

And he still didn't know how he was using one as well as he did. He just seemed to know how they worked.

Must be too much video games, Xander thought, bemused.

Then the Voice started to whisper again, telling how he could get out of this. It really didn't care about Faith. But since Xander did, it had a course of action that would get her back.

He didn't know what to do. Should he listen to the Voice or let the cops handle it?

"But it felt so good to kill that man, didn't it?" the Voice asked. "Do you really not want to have that feeling again?

Xander almost sobbed at the thought of not having that feeling again. He needed Faith. She would tell him what to do. He needed to get her.

As he sat back, gripping the pistol, preparing to move at the people pinning him down, deep in Xander's mind, a creature smiled.

Faith was struggling, but her strength was gone.

How? She didn't know.

But she knew she needed to get back to Xander. She saw the men starting to shoot at him as they dragged her out of the club.

The three men in the club looked across to each other, nodding and shaking heads as they silently gave orders to each other.

They all knew this was a cluster fuck. The kid wasn't even fully manifested yet, and he took down the point man without even breaking a sweat.

Just as the men started to move, the table that the kid was under moved. It flipped over and fell on its side, causing the three men to open up with their weapons.

As the nine millimeter bullets slammed into the wooden table top, a form shot out to the side to the table.

All three men reflexively turned to fire at it, literally shredding the form.

The men stopped almost as soon as they started.

It wasn't the boy.

And almost as soon as that thought came to them, Xander jumped up from behind the overturned table.

Troy looked on as Xander came up from behind the table.

Xander fired three times, the flash from his shot lighting his face, and each shot hit one of the gunmen, driving them to the ground. And with each shot, his face seemed to grow more and more demonic.

As Xander stood up, he looked down at his jacket. He had thrown it out from behind the table to distract the men. And now it was a worthless pile of rags.

Turning, he walked toward the fallen men. He could hear the sounds of the police sirens, so he knew, he didn't have much time.

As he got to the men, he saw one was still alive, and the other two were already dead. Looking at the face, he recognized him.

The gun man had been the driver for the Watcher team that was hunting him.

The one that was supposed to back off, so Linda could talk to the boss man.

So either Linda had lied to him or she was the one lied to.

He hoped it was the latter of the two. He didn't know how Faith would handle it, if she had been betrayed again.

Bending down, he picked on one of the submachine gun. He quickly turned out the men's pockets. The sirens were closer, so he was working fast. In one was a key to a local motel. He knew about it from listening to his father. Good old dad sometimes took some lady friends there.

Standing up, he looked down at the last man alive.

He started to walk past him, when the Voice cut through his mind.

"He would have killed you in cold blood," the Voice said. Xander stopped again looking down at the man.

"He would have hunted you down and killed you with your back turned," the Voice reasoned, "not taken you on, head to head like a man of honor. These men are scum. Kill him."

Xander still didn't move, just looked at the man, his dark eyes boring into the blue of the man on the ground as he gasped for breath.

"These men hurt your woman as well," the Voice said, trying a different tack. "They drugged her, and dragged her from you. And they will do unspeakable things to her body unless you act.

"You need to make them so worried about what you would do to them that they won't chance doing anything to her."

As that thought ran across him mind, Xander pulled the pistol up and shot the man between the eyes. He didn't even flinch as the blowback sent blood and brain matter flying, some of it hitting him on the face.

Turning, he started to walk away from the bodies.

The blood was dripping off his face and he knew he should feel bad. He had just killed four men. But he didn't.

It just felt right.

He felt alive.

As he walked out of the club, he passed Troy and Karen.

The jock and cheerleader both froze as he passed them. Xander stopped and looked the other boy, and the girl.

Then he smiled.

It was too much for Karen. Xander had always been nice. This thing couldn't be Xander. And that smile - that sweet smile on that bloody face.

So she then did what later she considered a reasonable response. She fainted.

Troy had another reaction. Terror was slowly eating up his guts. And seeing that smile, he was so scared, he didn't even notice when Karen fell to the ground.

"You hurt her," Xander drawled out, "I'll be back."

Xander turned with a laugh as the smell of urine filled the air.

He had to go get his girl back.

Faith gasped as she was thrown to the bed in the room. Three men held her. And Xander was somewhere dying because she wasn't good enough.

Had she had been less trusting, Xander wouldn't be dying.

"So how long do were wait for them?" one of the men said.

"Not long," the second man said. "They just needed to put a bullet in the head of that thing."

In the main lobby of the hotel, a young man walked in.

The night clerk looked up. Something was off about him.

"Hey," the boy asked, "can I use your phone?"

Just then the phone rang.

The last one of the three men, the one that had drugged Faith, picked it up.

After a short conversation, he said, "I'll be back." "Someone was caught messing with our van."

After the leader was gone, the two remaining men looked at each other.

"So what are we going to do now?" the tall gunman asked.

"Well," the dark haired gunman replied, "I can think of something to do."

Both men looked down at Faith.

Faith was gasping.

She had fought, she really had, but her strength was gone. The hands were on her for what seemed like forever, but it had only been a few minutes. The men had her stripped down to her underwear. Both knew that the girl wouldn't be living to see the sun. After all, they had been on these missions before.

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Open up," a muffled voice called from outside.

"What, you forget your key?" the dark haired gunman called out as he walked to open the door.

As he was unlocking the door, a force hit the door, driving it open and the man to the ground. Before he could get up, the body of the leader was thrown into the room.

The tall gun man jumped from beside the bed where Faith was tied.

Before he could move, the room was filled with the sounds of gunfire. Faith felt warm rain fall on her as blood spurted from the tall gunman and fell down on her skin.

Then there was another burst of gunfire as Xander shot the man on the ground.

He looked over at her.

"No one hurts my Faith," Xander all but whispered.

End Flash Back

Xander looked around the room.

The library seemed to grow smaller. The others look a little scared of him.

But his eyes locked on Faith.

"No one hurts my Faith."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the room, his face haunted with what he had done.

"What the hell does that mean?" Buffy asked.


	17. Chapter 17

Xander had just left the room when Buffy turned on Faith. 

"He's a killer and you brought him here?" Buffy almost snarled.

"Watcher dude," Faith said, turning toward Giles, "you want call your girl here off?"

"Buffy, calm down." Giles replied. 

"But Giles. . ." Buffy began.

"Buffy, I have told you, I already knew about what happened," the Watcher broke in, thinking of his friend and knowing that if Linda had sent them, they were indeed good people. 

And with Faith being a slayer, it had became his duty to help.

"They came to me for help. And help them I shall," he stated.

"Fine," Buffy frowned again, then turned to Faith, "Just keep your boyfriend away from Willow."

"What?" Faith asked.

"I saw they way he looked at her." Buffy snapped. "She doesn't need that problem."

"The girl has a voice, you know," Faith replied watching the blond, after a quick look at the redhead.

"She won't need it," Buffy said with a glare. " Because you will keep that killer away from her or else."

"Girls, please." Giles said stepping between them. 

Unseen by the room, Willow slipped out the door. 

Later, Willow stood at her locker.

She couldn't believe the way Buffy was acting - it was like she was a thing. 

She could make up her own mind. So, some boy talked to her. That didn't mean that he was going to hurt her. Some cute boy, who was dangerous. And who looked so good in those tight jeans of his. 

No, he wasn't dangerous at all. Willow looked around biting her upper lip. God, when had her life gotten this way? Her friend telling her what to wear, how to wear it and now who she could talk to.

Just then a hand slammed into the locker beside hers. With a small squeak, she spun to see Larry, the star football player, standing there.

"Little Willow," the big blonde said with a smirk. 

"L-L-Larry," Willow whispered. She knew what was coming. She knew she shouldn't be in the hall alone. But after the way Buffy had acted –

And Cordy hadn't been much better. Since Cordelia and Jessie had started to date, he wouldn't go anywhere without her. 

"I have some homework that need doing," Larry said, still smirking.

"Larry," Willow begged, "I can't keep…"

"Willow, that not the answer I want to hear," Larry said with a threatening voice. 

"Well, it's all you're going to get," a voice said from behind the football player. 

Willow looked to see Xander standing there. 

"This is not your concern," Larry told the other boy, trying to look threateningly at him.

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Xander said calmly. "See, I don't like bullies. And she is a friend of mine. So I think you need to be doing your own home work from now on."

"Do you know who I am?" Larry said, pulling himself up.

"Nope," Xander said, smiling. "Now ask me if I care."

Larry was stumped. Over the years, he would find Willow and tell her to do his homework. She would do it. No fuss, no muss, and a easy A. Now this punk was standing up to him.

"Now, guy," Xander added, looking at the football player, "before you do something stupid." 

Then Xander looked at the guy more closely. "Stupider, that is," he corrected himself. 

"You need to know that I can and will kick your ass up and down this hallway, in front all your friends. And if you get me mad, I might hurt you bad enough that you won't be able to play ball the rest of the season. Your choice. You can walk away now and no one will know. But if you stay, your ass is so-o-o kicked."

Larry took one look at the boy. Then at Willow. It just wasn't worth it. He looked down the hallway and could see Jonathon walking. He would work just as well on his homework. 

And he wouldn't have this problem. 

"You ok?" Xander asked Willow as the jock walked away.

Willow didn't say anything, just ducked her head down and nodded.

Xander turned to see the nod, but he could also just make out her face through her hair. Her eyes were wide and she looked all the world like a rabbit facing a hungry wolf. 

"Shit," Xander whispered, causing the girl flinch again. "Sorry, I'll go."

Willow stood there as Xander started to walk away. 

He had come to help her. To just make sure she was ok. He didn't want anything. Even Buffy didn't do that. Sure, they had became friends, but when Buffy had first met Willow she had wanted something. Even if it was just help with her homework. But she hadn't helped her out or said anything to Cordelia when the cheerleader had cut her down at the water fountain. 

"W. . Wait." Willow called out to Xander. "You want to go get a soda?"

Xander stopped and smiled. 

"Sure."

Back in the library

"Giles," Buffy began, she's the one in my dreams."

"You dream about me?" Faith asked with an upraised eyebrow. "The looks you been giving my boy, I though you drove a stick."

"What?" Buffy asked confused. Then it hit her. "No, I . . . Faith, can't you talk five minutes without getting disgusting?"

"Hey," Faith said, smirking, "it's who I am."

"So, this is the girl you saw riding with the creature?" Giles asked, looking Faith over. He had gotten part of the story from the young woman before Buffy had busted in.

"Yes," Buffy said, looking Faith over again. This time the others joined her. 

Faith looked around the room at all the staring eyes. She felt like she was back in school. 

Then it hit her – she WAS back in school. 

Then she did what she used to do when everyone used to watch her in school waiting for her to screw up again.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," she snarled, and flipped the whole room off. 

Out side.

People were looking and for the first time, Willow didn't mind. She was laughing. It had been a long time that she laughed like this in public. Not since kindergarten when Harmony made fun of her and then broke her crayons. 

But this guy was funny. 

She knew he was a killer. He even admitted it. 

But he wasn't evil. She knew that to her bones. And he wouldn't hurt her. They were laid out on the lawn, their heads on each other's shoulders, staring up at the clouds in the sky. 

As the rest of the school walked by, they were quoting movies to each other - trying to see who couldn't figure out what movie they were using. And in between looking for cartoon character in the clouds. 

So far the game was neck and neck. 

Library.

"I don't believe this." Buffy was fuming. "First, I have Spike running around with a Du Lac cross. Then he's hunting down my honey." To which, Jessie rolled his eyes.

"I have assassins hunting me. And now I have a girl and her pet monster in town. Oh, and let's not forget about the killer that she brought with her!"

Faith had given up on the blond. She just let her rant. Every time she had said anything, the girl had taken it wrong. So she just kept quiet while the watcher read though some of his books. 

"Willow?" Giles asked, not looking up. "Would you find something for on the. . . Web?"

When she didn't answer, he looked up. 

"Willow?" 

It had been a frantic search for Buffy. She just knew that someone had kidnapped her friend. 

But what she found was even more shocking.

Willow was laid out in the grass with a boy. They were whispering to each other and giggling.

"Willow?" Buffy asked as she walked up, "Where have you been…" She came to a stop, as she saw who Willow was laughing with. The Boy.

"Hey, Buffy," Willow said, brightly.

"Willow, what are you doing?" Buffy asked as she stopped over them. Not noticing that the boy has gone non-verbal. 

"Nothing," she said, smiling at her friend. " We've been talking movies. Did you know that Xander likes to watch bollywood musicals too? And he can recite all three Star Wars movies and the Star Trek movie. We've been having a blast."

Then she noticed that Xander still hadn't moved or said anything. He was just staring at Buffy's dress. No, not at her dress. Up it. All the way up it.

"Perv," Willow said pushing him. 

Buffy looked down, then shrieked. Then she jumped back and tried to kick him at the same time. 

To which Xander just rolled and moved 'til he slid under a stone bench. 

"Come out of there, you rat bastard!" Buffy yelled at the boy.

"Buffy! Calm down," Willow said, getting between her and the boy. 

"Hey you're the one standing over my head like that," Xander said, from the safety of the bench. 

"Buffy, he's a boy," Willow said calmly. "All boys are pervs."

"Giles wants you two back at the library," Buffy all but growled out. Then with one final jump at Xander, she turned and stomped away.

"God," Xander said, as he watched her storm off. "I hate it when she leaves, but really enjoy the view."

Willow turned to look at him. Then smiled and smacked him upside the head.

"So you were cut on your arm," Giles asked the young man. "Then, after that, you felt different and started to hear this "Voice"?"

"Yea," Xander replied.

"Tell him about the tattoos," Faith said from her seat.

"Tattoos?" Giles asked, looking up from the books he had piled in front of him.

What do you think there talking about?" Jessie asked, looking over at where the watcher was sitting with the out-of-towners.

"Don't know, don't care," Buffy said, still glaring at the boy.

Jessie groaned, and Cordy looked over as Faith was now bending over the table to look closer at some books.

"Yea," Faith said sitting up leaning across the table to look at set of pictures in one of Giles' books. "Like those. Show him, X."

"

"What?" Xander asked, looking around the room. "Here?"

"Just your shirt," Faith said smiling, "Unless you want to show more, I won't object to it."

"Uh," Giles broke in, "just the shirt will be fine."

"Ok," Xander whispered. "But if I catch cold, I am so going to sue."

As he put the shirt off, the room could see his body. It was covered in an intricate layers of Tattoos. Almost like he was wearing a suit of armor. And carved into the armor were symbols and pictures. 

Giles sat back. The only time he had ever seen anything like this was the body work of some of the Yakuza Gangs in Asia. 

"Oh my."

"Oh, my." Cordy said looking at he boy as he stripped off his shirt. While she wasn't thrilled at the art work, the muscles under it were very nice.

"Cordy!" Jessie said, shocked, looking at his girlfriend.

"Hey," Cordy replied, to her jealous boyfriend. "If you can look, so can I. Right, girls?"

Cordy looked over her shoulders at the other two females at the table with her. Well, Buffy was looking without seeming to like it. She was still pissed. 

Willow had gone straight past Non-verbal. 

All the way to drooling. 

"So what is it?" Faith asked.

"I'm not sure," Giles said carefully. But the tone said he knew just what it was. 

"You know," Xander said. He could feel it in his bones. 

The older man looked at the two young people. He knew that he should just call the Council and let them handle it. But Linda had sent them to him for help. And that carried a lot of weight. 

Plus, he had to try. 

Someone had reached out to him when he was in that dark place. A place that this boy was about to be dragged down into.

"You are infected," Giles said calmly. 

"With what?"

Giles sat back, watching the boy.

"WITH WHAT?" Xander said 

"An old one," Giles said. "At least by appearances. Which one, I am unsure at this time. But with further research, we should be able to find out who."

"And cure it," Xander said, despairingly. " AND cure it, right? RIGHT?"

"We may not be able to do that," Giles said quietly. 

"What?" Both Faith and Xander snapped.

"Old ones are creatures of almost unlimited power," Giles explained. "We may not have the power to do anything."

"So, that's why the Council wants me dead?"

"I would guess that was the reason," Giles replied, pulling back from the boy. He knew that if the boy did have an old one inside him, that the Council could be right. 

Unless…

"I am so screwed," Xander said as he head sank to the table.

Faith leaned over and laid her head on his should. 

"You'll always have me," she whispered to him.

"What are they talking about?" Cordy asked as Faith laid down on the boy. From the looks on their faces, it wasn't good. 

"I don't know," Buffy said. It bothered her. She knew that Faith was tied to some great evil. 

But she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew Giles just said something to the two that hurt them. A lot.

Across town

"Evening, madam. Are you the lady of the house?" a small man asked, looking at the woman that answered the door. 

As the man talked, a small worm crawled across his hand, unseen by the woman. 

End part.


	18. Chapter 18

Buffy was still pissed at the boy, Xander, although she had calmed down. Actually, he was nice in a weird pervy sort of way. Not nearly as bad as Jessie had been before Cordy had gotten him to calm down. But still not too bad.

"Must be a Boston thing," she had thought as Faith told another story about their trip across the county. Not one of the stories didn't end up with either her or Xander naked. And a few ended up with both of them on the side of the road naked.

"So who's your itch scratcher?" Faith asked the blonde out of the blue. It had came quite a shock to learn that the other girl was a Slayer as well.

"My what?" Buffy asked confused. The boy Xander was looking at everyone and no one, making sure his eyes never fell on her. He knew what Faith meant and knew it was going to piss her off.

"You know, the hungry, horny thing we Slayers get," Faith asked calmly.

The group all turned to look at Buffy whose eyes widened and slid down in her seat.

"I have no knowledge of this thing you speak of."

But the looks of the others didn't stop.

"Oohh," Buffy tried, "look there's Angel. I need to talk to him." And with that she was off like a shot.

Xander watched the blonde Slayer take off.

"Who's the stiff?" Faith asked, looking over at the dark guy Buffy was walking to see, then turned to Jessie as he snorted.

"What?" Faith asked a little on edge, Was geek boy laughing at her?

"Stiff," Jessie replied as if it answered it all.

"Still not getting it," Faith asked, her voice taking on a 'don't screw with me' tone.

"He's a Vampire," Willow told the Boston natives.

"So why isn't she slaying it?" Faith asked the table.

Cordelia replied with a look at her boyfriend, "He does good. And he helps us a lot."

"Yeah but only when it looks like he can win. Or if Buffy will be impressed," Jessie all but snapped. "Remember, it was me that had to drag his sorry ass out to find were the Master. And he just stood there while I gave Buffy CPR. Vampires have no breath? Yeah, right. Then how does Spike smoke? Hell, how does he even speak. The noise's got to come from somewhere."

"Jessie," Cordy said, warningly. "You don't get the whole picture."

"Yes, I do," Jessie snapped. "you girls go gaga over him. He was a man slut when he was alive - left plenty of women high and dry after playing with them. Then he became a vampire, and he just killed them. Now that he's got a soul and looking for peace. So, what does he do? Falls in love with a Slayer. He's just a lovely peace of work. Read his history some times. Hell, have Buffy read it. Maybe it will save some heartache. That we will have to deal with. Not her."

Faith and Xander just took it all in. Then, as one, they turned to look at each other. Then over at the vampire.

Heartache.

There was one way to solve it from happening.

And both knew what it was.

London England.

Travers stood in his office, looking out over the park outside. He liked to watch it this time of day. The mothers were bringing out their children to play. He could just make out the students moving around the yard in the school nearby. It was a sign of new life. It was a sign that the Council had done its job again last night.

Turning, he walked back to his desk and looked at the report on his desk. The team he's sent to America had failed. They had lost six good men in the fight of evil. Their families would never know how they died, only that they had did their duty. The next team was already on its way. He had just signed their orders this morning.

Wolfram & Hart had contacted them and sent information about the whereabouts of the Old One that had taken the Slayer from Boston.

The Hellmouth.

It was simple deduction on his part that the creature would head there, anyway. The Council's seers were saying that a great evil was raising on a Hellmouth and while the Hellmouth in Cleveland was too small for something of the this power, the one in Sunnydale would be just right for the creature to complete its transformation.

Soon, he was down to the last report. It was a special case: Linda Morgan. She was being held in the Scotland Center and her progress was coming along quite well. Their doctors there said she should be out in as little as a week. The reworking she had under gone was extensive, but it was worth it. If it held.

Travers looked once again at the picture on his desk of his Family, then at the ones in the folders of the young man and the young woman, then finely at the picture of Linda.

There was always a price of doing good.

But he was willing to pay it.

Xander was walking behind the girls as they patrolled. It wasn't a bad spot to be in, all things considered.

Willow was walking beside him and every now and then, she would open her mouth as if she was gong to say something. Then she would close it and look around some more.

Cordelia and Jessie were also with the group. It was kind of strange to see them doing the couple-ly thing while out killing vampires.

And then there was Angel. He was up front with the Slayers.

Finally after three blocks, the redhead finally got on Xander's nerves. Not that he snapped at her. But it was bothersome.

"What?" Xander asked as he watched Buffy and Faith double team a vampire.

"Huh?" Willow asked, her eyes going wide, "I didn't say anything."

"No," Xander replied looking over at her as Buffy drove a stake into the vampire's chest. "You didn't, but the goldfish act says you want to. Don't worry you won't get me mad if you mis-speak."

"You and Faith?" Willow asked, biting her lip.

"Yes?" Xander asked, looking at her.

"You're seeing her?" Willow asked, so fast it took a moment for Xander to understand what she had said.

"Well, no," Xander said reluctantly. " She's my best friend. Maybe a bit more than that. We have always had each other."

"Uh," Willow said quietly. "You're not seeing anyone? Right?"

"No," Xander replied, looking at the redhead, one eye brow raised. "Why?"

"No reason," the hacker said quickly. "Just curious."

Faith stood back watching them and she felt Buffy tense beside her.

"Calm down," Faith told the other Slayer. "He wont hurt her."

"I don't know, there's just something about him," Buffy told the dark haired girl standing beside her. "He just sets my Slaydar off, big time."

"Slaydar?" Faith asked.

"Yeah, you know," Buffy said. "That tingle that tells you a vamp is around. You know, Slaydar."

"Well," Faith smiled, "my Slaydar's not that strong. Don't get many Slayer dreams either. Linda said not all Slayers are the same. Each one has their strengths and weakness."

"I know. Giles told me that, too," Buffy admitted. "The dream with you might have shaded the way I see you. Giles said that the dreams are not exactly how it will be. Just kind of like watching a movie while half-asleep and on acid or something. You kind of know what's happing but not really."

"Acid?" Faith asked, smirking.

"His words, not mine," Buffy said quickly.

Angel stood back watching the two Slayers. Something was off with his demon tonight. Ever since he had met up with them, it had been screaming for him to run, but he didn't know why.

Looking back at the boy, he felt there was something off about him. But if you travel with a Slayer, he had to have more going for him than it looked like.

"Just friends huh?" Willow asked again.

"Yes," Xander said, smiling. He noticed the young woman's smile.

"What? You like her?" Xander asked in a teasing voice.

"What?!" the redhead asked, blushing. "She's nice and all, but she's a girl."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Xander asked, still smirking. "I heard she goes both ways, anyway. I could put in a good word for you. As long as you let me watch."

"Wh- How…" Willow was flabbergasted. She had thought like that. About girls…and boys. Of course, boys. She was a girl and girls like boys. But still…

Then she saw the smile.

"You!!" Willow screeched, then slapped his shoulder. Xander just jumped back, laughing and dodging about Jessie and Cordelia as he moved away from the redhead.

"See, no problem," Faith said, watching the two chase each other.

Buffy just watched them.

It was then the attack happened.

A flash of light and buzz of electrical discharge, and Angel was driven to the ground.

Then out of the shadows came wave after wave of vampires.

Buffy was knocked back from her boyfriend as Faith was forced back to Jessie and his girlfriend. One of the vampires had knocked Xander to the ground and was pulling at Willow, trying to get her away from the group.

Buffy was knocking back the undead troops when she saw Spike stroll up and picked up Angel.

Faith was fighting hard, and while Jessie and Cordelia were putting up a great front, she knew that they would lose one or more of the others. And Willow was a goner, for sure. She just prayed that Xander would be ok.

Across from her, she could see Buffy, and that she was doing her best to save those that she protected, even while she was surrounded by Vampires.

At least twenty of the suckers were all over the blonde Slayer, who had fought them to a stand-till. Then a lucky bow from one of the vampires caught Faith, stunning her.

Then there was a noise without sound, and the very air changed around them. Some of the vampires took off without even seeing what was going on.

Xander abruptly came to his feet.

He grabbed a vampire near him and slammed it into a wall, the impact driving a fine powder from the mortar between the bricks, as he turned from the fallen form.

A dark stain seemed to flow down his hands, leaving behind markings like those that covered his back and chest. At the same time, they seem to flow up from his chest to cover his neck, stopping a few short inches from his head.

A snarl carved its way onto his face, a look that caused Faith to pause.

She abruptly knew her friend wasn't in control any more, that the creature in him was.

The creature in Xander was thrilled. The boy had let his control loose. It was the first time in a long time that he had done that. Even in his sleep, the boy had controlled his will. Now he was free. Reaching under his coat, he pulled out a pistol.

Jessie looked at the gun, then the boy.

"We're so dead." He had thought, with the change, the new guy would at least hurt some of the vampires. But when the gun came out, he knew that they had

lost. Guns can't hurt vampires.

Then the large hand gun went off, and the vampire holding onto Willow screamed and turned to dust.

"To paraphrase a favorite movie of my shell," the creature in Xander said, "this the most powerful hand gun in the world. And it will blow your head clean off. So, do you feel lucky?"

Then the creature laughed.

At that, most of the remaining vampires took off.

"At last! A fight!" And with that, it charged into the midst of the vampires that had stayed to fight.

Buffy was shocked to say the least, but soon she jumped into the fight, as Faith also joined up.

It was short and brutal. And while the girl part of them hated the fight, the slayer part of them loved it.

And War?

It was what he lived for.


	19. Chapter 19

LA

"He is rising," the young man muttered, "He is RISING!"

Lilah Morgan looked down at the screaming seer. She had been called out of a meeting with a minor official of a small company, one that would, in a few years do major work with the military in the coming years and would let them have access to a program that was just starting up. Something to with a heavenly gate or something along those lines. Not that The Senior partners had anything to do with heaven. But a word in the right ear at the right time could be beneficial.

"Who is the idiot talking about?" she asked one of the drones that worked this level.

"Project Horseman, Miss Morgan," one of the men in lab coats replied.

"Horseman?" She hadn't heard of that one.

"It's out of the New York office," the lead doctor told her. "It jumpstarted itself a few weeks ago. We're looking for him to put it back in the box but..."

"Who was in charge of it?" the beautiful lawyer asked. If she could get it back to the fool who lost control of his project, she could get back to what she needed doing.

"Mr. Miller," the man said, smiling a little.

"So call him. It's his case right?"

"Well," the doctor told her, "it's your case now. Mr. Miller was sent to the retirement farm."

Lilah shivered.

The farm.

He must have screwed up big, to be sent there. The farm was what the company used for replacement parts. Mr. Miller and, more than likely, his wife and children were all locked away somewhere, being cut into little parts, and those parts being placed into whoever could pay for them.

After a fast run through of the records, she found that the late Mr. Miller had sent the information about the Horseman to the Council to let them handle it. He then had planned to step in at the last moment and take all the credit.

Or at least that was what it looked like. But it was to late for him to do anything about it.

Oh well, it was a nice enough plan. And it should work for her as well, looking at the picture of the boy. Well, that shouldn't be to much of a problem, unless he was manifested. But until then, he would still be of use.

The Slayers fought in tandem, each having the other's back.

Behind them, Jessie and Cordy had formed up around Willow who was still on the ground after the attack.

Only War stood alone.

He watched the others, but didn't really notice them. He watched the sloppy executions of moves on both parts - the humans and the vampires.

Most of the vampires left him alone, and those that didn't were destroyed before they could harm his greatness.

He fed off the battle the energy that was being released here and while it was not filling, it was better than nothing. He needed more battles to get his strength back.

But this was a start.

He felt a tingle.

To the west was one of his brothers.

Close.

He turned to look once again at the fight. It was almost over, anyway. Only a few of the vampires were left.

His eyes locked on to the girls. The Dark Slayer. He could feel that monkey that controlled his shell screaming for him to help her. But it was of no matter.

She would survive the fight.

Or not.

He had business to take care of. Turning, he saw the redhead laying out on the ground.

And HE almost stumbled. The monkey had almost got control back.

With a low growl, War stormed off the field of battle. He might have to remove those two females; they were giving his shell to much to lock on to. Too much to fight for.

But for now, he needed to find his brother.

Back at the library.

"Oh dear." Giles said looking at a book.

"Oh dear is right," Buffy said as she half dragged Willow into the room, while the others followed. "And I'll raise you Golly, and Good lord."

"Buffy?" Giles said looking at his slayer. "Whatever is the problem?"

"We got tattoo boy running around town," Buffy said as she looked around the room at the others. "And no way to get him roped in. And Spike took Angel."

"Angel?" Giles asked. " Oh I found out why Spike wants The Cross of Du Lac. It could be used to cure a vampire."

"How?" Jessie asked. He had, over the last few years, discovered a need to help people. To learn the arts to help heal. And while he hated vampires, since they were, in his mind, the very opposite of life and lived on with no function other than to kill, he still want to know how to heal, on the off chance it could be used to help people.

"He would need to get the blood of Drusilla's sire," Giles explained referring to his notes

.

"Do we know who her sire is?" Cordelia asked.

"Angel," Buffy whispered. "Will they kill him?"

"Everything I have seen it says will be deadly," Giles told his Slayer.

"Giles, you know just what to say to make a girl feel good," Buffy said as she sank into a nearby chair.

Dru looked down at Angel, a small smile on her face. Then she upended the small urn in her hands, pouring out the holy water in it on to the chest of her sire.

Then, as the older vampire screamed, she would giggle. Spike sat across the room, watching the insane vampire play. He didn't need his Dru killing the poof before he could heal her.

Just then Dru screamed, and Spike looked up as she fell to her knees.

"War is coming," she was whispering over and over as he reached her.

"Dru?" Spike asked softly. He had lots of practice dealing with the Seer, but she still was a handful at those times.

"Spike, don't go to War," Dru said sharply. "If you go to War, you'll bring ruin on us all."

"Don't worry, dear," Spike said smirking. "I don't think I could pass the physical to join the army, what with being dead and all."

Dru looked at Spike, then she slapped him driving him to his knees.

"Don't talk like that or no cream for you," Dru said, her voice sweet and light as if she was talking to a very young child. "Little Spiky doesn't go to War. Understand? You let War come to us."

That night the streets of Sunnydale cleared.

Every person, every creature could feel it, like lighting just before it struck. Only a very few foolhardy creatures were on the streets.

War walked up to a home. He felt his brother inside. Pushing open the door, he waked in.

The house was quiet and dark. There was a smell to the air. One that War hadn't smelled in a long time.

Turning into the living room, there he saw his brother sitting.

"Pestda'lenc," he greeted his brother in the old tongue.

"W'ar?" the small man said, standing up.

"Finely free," War replied, looking over his brother's body. He looked like a small man, dressed in a trench coat and glasses. A small bag sat on the floor by his chair, along with a body of a woman.

"Where are our other brothers?"

"Lost."

"Lost?" War drew himself up. "Who could harm our glory?"

"Others of equal power," the old one said. "With you forced into slumber, we lost power. Each was driven and hounded 'til they fell. I am the last, 'til now. And I am a slave to these mortals." With that. the creature held up his Tarakan's ring.

War drew himself up, the power rippling through him.

Then it was gone.

He felt tired. He knew he would be sleeping again, pushed back into the boy's mind and only a whisper in his ear soon.

And as that thought ran across his mind, he felt the boy's mind stir.

Soon, he wouldn't have to deal with that.

Soon, he would be whole again.

"Found him," Willow said, looking up from a bowl on the table in front her.

"The spell worked?" Giles asked, pulling on his coat. This was too important to leave to the hands of children, no matter how accomplished they were.

An Old one walking the streets was not something they needed to stand around and wait on. If nothing else, he needed to contact the Council.

But something kept telling him to wait. It had taken him a long time to convince Buffy that Xander was more important target to find than Angel. While Angel's death would not be a positive thing, in the grand scheme of the world, it would be a minor thing.

But if Xander fully manifested, it could mean the end of everything.

"Yeah," Willow said, looking down at the clear glass bowl. It had been filled with water and sat on a map. And looking through it at the city map, she could see a glow coming from...

"Well, Crap," Willow said, causing everyone that knew her to look at her.

Faith just stopped to look at the group.

"What's up Willow." Buffy asked.

"Xanders... Well he's on..." Willow paused, "He's in the house next to yours."

"What?" Buffy said, then looking at Faith, then Giles. "No, he's harmless. Now he's next to my house. This ends now. He's evil. He dies."

Giles just nodded his head.

But as Buffy reached the door of the library, Faith told the blonde Slayer, "He's no more evil than your vampire.

"Both have souls and both are carrying around a monster inside them."

"Yeah," Buffy said whipping around. "But at least my boyfriend can't lose his soul to a monster. His curse is keeping it there."

The Streets were dark.

As War walked out of the home, he felt weaker. He was tiring. His brother had stayed, as the wards would keep him trapped doing the biddings of his masters.

A slave to the assassins. He pitied his brother. Though he understood duty, he was trapped in more than most. It still pained him to see his family brought so low.

Just then a jeep pulled in next to the home his brother was sitting in. A mother and daughter got out. Arguing. Loudly.

"Dawn!" the mother was saying. "Enough! I am sorry we had to leave early. And I am sorry you couldn't spend more time with Lois and Zoe. But it was time to come home."

Just as War reach the street in front of the home, he lost his footing. Weakness rushed his limbs and darkness filled his eyes.

The last thing he heard was the girl screaming.

"Mom!"

Xander woke up. He was laid out on a couch, a wet rag on his forehead.

A young girl, maybe twelve years old, was sitting on a coffee table as she looked at him.

He could hear the girl's mother in the back talking on the phone.

"I have been on hold for twenty minutes," she snapped. "I need an ambulance here now!" she paused. "What do you mean there's no one able to come at this time? What kind of Hospital do you run? I have a young man here who just passed out in my yard. I had to drag him into my house because it was taking you so long to get here."

"— "

"What kind of question is that? Of course he's breathing. And what does PCP have to do with anything?"

"--"

"What..." Joyce pulled the phone away from her ear looking at it. "Those people are crazy. What hell did they mean get a cross?"

"Mom," Dawn called out to her mother. "He's awake."

Xander sat up looking at the two.

"Uhh, hi?" he asked, looking around. The last clear memory he had was right before he was knocked down in the fight; after that, it was just hazy - almost dream-like.

"Are you ok?" Joyce asked, looking over at the boy. She had seen all the tattoos on him as she and Dawn had dragged the boy into her home.

She was hoping she hadn't made a mistake about bringing him in. That last question about gangs on PCP made he re-think bringing the boy inside.

But laying out there on the street seems so wrong. She had seen her other neighbors going in and locking their doors as she stood there dialing 911 for help. After a few minutes, it became obvious that no one was coming, so she had brought the boy into her home.

Buffy would be home soon. And she had hoped that the ambulance would have taken the boy away by now.

"What happened?" Xander asked, looking at the women.

"You passed out in front of my home," Joyce replied. "Do you live around here?"

"No ma'am," Xander said trying to stand up. "Just here to see a friend."

As he stood, he wobbled Joyce stepped forward to grab him. Dawn jumped to help, too, but with her jump, she knocked the coffee table into her mom's knees.

Which turned Joyce's grab into a tackle. Which turned into a group fall, when Dawn reached them a second after her mom.

With Xander on the bottom.

Which was just the wrong time for the Slayer to come walking through her door.

"Way to go stud," Faith said, then whistled at the pile on the floor.


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey Buffy!" Xander called out from the floor, trying to figure out what he had done to get THIS death glare.

Faith was standing behind the slayer, and if Xander was a betting man, she was giggling. Willow stood with them as well and had what he thought was a smile.

Yep, he had done something. Now if someone would tell him what, he could figure out if he needed to run or not.

"Buffy?" Joyce asked as she pulled herself up and away from the boy. "You know my daughter?"

"Well," Xander said pulling himself from the pile, "I just met her today."

He let out a yelp, jumping away from Dawn, who had an innocent look on her face.

"My hand slipped," she said, looking at everyone, as a blush ran across her face.

That was it. Faith started to laugh, which caused Willow to follow. Buffy just looked between the two girls.

"Just what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, the quickly followed it with, "and how did you know I lived here?"

"Don't know and didn't know." Xander said. "I just woke up when you guys got here."

"Buffy," Joyce told her daughter, "stop interrogating your friend."

"He's not my friend!" Buffy snapped, only to stop widening her eyes when she realized that she was yelling at her mother.

"Well," Faith added in from behind Buffy, just getting her laughter under control, "Buffy, I don't know about that. Do you flash your underwear at just any one?"

"WHAT!?" Joyce snapped, looking at her daughter then at the young man just starting to get up from the floor.

"Thanks a lot, Faith," Xander mumbled.

"Buffy, you slut!" Dawn called out to her sister, in a very happy sounding voice.

"Dawn!" Joyce called out.

"Mom," Buffy explained, "It was an accident. He was laying down at school with Willow, and I walked up on them. And HE looked up my dress."

Joyce turned to the squirming boy with an upraised eyebrow.

"I couldn't help but look?" Xander said so pathetically, that Joyce smiled.

"So it was a boys will be boys thing?" Joyce asked, her voice soft, almost nice.

"Yeah that's it." Xander replied, nodding fast.

"Ok," Joyce said smiling, "I understand that. But Xander... You do understand if I find out you've done anything else like that from now on, you're not going to have to worry about your boy things again. Understand me?"

"Yes ma'am," Xander said, swallowing a lump in his throat. And, as scared of the being that was inside his body with him, the woman - this mother – scared him a whole hell of a lot more.

The plane slowly fell on to the dusty landing field. It was only a few miles from the busier one at Sunnydale. And the Sunnydale airport would always look the other way.

In a way it was worse than most third world air fields. At least there, demons would get a free pass.

But the team followed their standard operating orders. No one would see them come in or leave.

As the plane set down, three SUV's pulled up to the plane. Six large men got off, followed this time by two women.

One old and one young.

And with in a few minutes the group was off.

Xander sat at the dinner table.

Joyce had whipped up a quick dinner for the group, then took Buffy off to one side to talk to her.

Faith sat across from him and the others were in the living room with the TV.

"So what happened?" Faith asked. Giles and the love birds had left a few minutes ago to check out the neighbor's house. The one were Xander had first been detected.

"Don't know." Xander said, looking at his long time friend. "One minute I was with you guys playing around with Willow, the next I was here. Just bits and pieces of what happened between."

The random flashes bothered him more than not knowing what he had done.

A flash of the end of the fight.

Faith holding her own and how he wanted to go help her.

And Willow laid out. She needed help. NOW.

He wouldn't go help both of his girls and they needed him.

It was horrible.

Then he was out on the street, going to see his brother. Only he didn't have a brother. He was pleading to go back, then he was gone at a house. He almost got his body back but he wasn't strong enough.

Then he was here. On the couch.

Dawn walked back through the dining room. She smiled at the two at the table. Picking up a bag that was laid out there, she turned and went back to the living room with Willow.

There was a scent in the air, something Xander couldn't place.

It wasn't normal.

He had noticed over the last few weeks that he could see better and more than he ever imagined.

And that had translated over to his other senses as well.

As he explained to the slayer about what had happened to him, he kept looking at the door Dawn had left by.

There was something…

Then it hit him - her smell was off.

The voice in his head whispered to him.

She wasn't human - at least not totally.

Her scent was similar to Buffy, almost as if she was Buffy and then another layer was placed on top of her. A little shift, here and there, to make a new person.

Powerful magics, the voice thought.

And possibly useful.

"So," Cordelia asked as the trio entered the home, "Tattoo boy was here?"

The place stank, all three thought as they entered the home. As if it had an overlay of something else.

Jesse gasped and dropped to his knees.

On the floor in front of him was a woman, her face frozen in a look of absolute horror.

Giles walked to the boy, placing a hand on his should. He felt something fall on his hand, glancing down as a worm crawled across his hand. He had just recognized what it was when Cordelia screamed.

He turned and looked where the young woman was staring at - the roof over their head was moving.

Just as he looked at it, it started to rain down.

He grabbed on to Jesse's shoulder and started to pull him from the room, while his other hand did the same to Cordelia.

But it was too late.

A form was coalescing from the maggots.

Pulling them back the way they came, he found an open door.

The basement.

It was their only chance.


	21. Chapter 21

Sitting in the living room, Xander and Faith watched TV. Dawn had gone to bed, and Willow and Buffy had eventually joined them. Joyce was upstairs getting ready for bed as well.

After a very long conversation with Buffy, Joyce had decided to put the teens up for the night, although tomorrow she was definitely going to get some straight answers from them.

And Faith and Xander most certainly weren't going to be sleeping in the same room.

Faith would be staying with Buffy, and Xander would have to make due with on the couch.

Just before going to bed the thought stuck Buffy.

"Where's Giles?"

Giles was in hell.

Although the literal version might actually be less painful, he reflected.

He was locked in a basement with two hormonal teenagers and a demon waiting for them to try to get out.

He could hear the creature upstairs. It was sitting in a rocking chair and every so often it would rock back and forth.

So far he had broken up the teens three times.

Once for fighting and two times for – other things.

He most certainly was NOT going to sit here with them groping each other.

After breaking them up again, he looked to the ceiling imploringly and asked, "Why me? I know did terrible things as Ripper but this goes beyond punishment."

Behind him, Cordelia and Jessie had once again began to make out.

Just then, there was more movement up stairs, causing Cordelia to jump and almost scream. They heard a loud thump and then nothing.

It was so quite that when someone tried the door it cause everyone in the basement to jump.

But not as much as when Buffy called through the door.

"Giles?"

"He was a bug man," Jessie was telling the group once they were out of the house.

"What is it with you and Bug people?" Buffy asked with a smirk, thinking back to the teacher that almost has eaten him last year.

"Not a bug man, but one made up lots of little buggies," Jessie explained looking down at the shorter Slayer.

Giles had left to see if he could find out anything about the bug man, while Cordelia had taken off to get a shower after finding a bug in her hair.

The whole time Xander had sat and watched the group.

The Family.

He had Faith and that was all he needed.

But seeing the group, the way it moved and talked, he missed having a family.

He had always been surrounded by people. Sure, maybe he was never an important part. But he had been a part of it, nonetheless.

Faith watched the group from the side.

While she wouldn't have minded being a part of a group like that, it wasn't a driving need. She was a loner. And other than Xander and Linda, she hadn't really wanted or needed anyone. But she knew her Xander. This was what he had always wanted.

And to see him cut off from it hurt her more than she thought it could.

"You ok?" Faith asked. Buffy looked up at the sound of the voice. She had almost forgotten about the others.

"What was that thing?" Buffy asked Xander walking over. "You were over there by yourself and it didn't attack you. So what was it?"

"I don't know," Xander almost whispered.

He was looking at the new tattoos on his hands. Every time he lost control, new ones would come to the surface and they would stay.

These were like chains wrapping around his hands - even covering his palms - and each link was covered in barbs.

Just looking at them he knew that they were covered in a poison.

"You don't know?" Buffy asked. "Guy, I am trying to give you a break here. I don't trust you. You set my teeth on edge. But Willow seems to like you. That gives you a break, but lying to me doesn't help you."

"I'm not lying," Xander said in the same voice. "I don't know who was there. I can't remember what happened after the fight."

Buffy still looked like she didn't believe him. But she had to deal with a monster this close to her home and Angel was still out there somewhere with Spike, who was doing god know what to him.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow, we're tearing the town apart. We've got to find Angel," Buffy told the group.

"What about the Assassin?" Jessie asked. "They're still gunning for you."

"I can handle them."

Later, after everyone had gone home or to bed, Xander felt a movement in the room with him.

"Faith?"

"Yeah." Xander could see her dark form move across the room.

"You lied to them," was all she said. "What was over there?"

"I don't know," Xander replied, with a sigh, before he added, "but it felt like - Family."

The next day

The Library was quiet.

Half of the Scoobies were looking through books, trying to find out how Spike could be using Angel. If they could find out why, then they would know where.

The other half was looking through the books for the Bug man.

Xander had caught the looks he was getting. From Buffy's confrontational looks, to Giles' speculative glances, to Faith's trusting grins. And Willow's hopeful expression.

It was tiresome.

So many people with so many ideas of who or what he was. After hours of this, he was getting fed up. And the Voice just wouldn't leave him alone.

With every look, it would tell him something. How Buffy didn't trust him, even though he had not done anything to her.

Or how Giles was planning his death, so that he would never get to his true power.

Or that Faith would leave him, now that she had met someone like her. Someone that wasn't becoming a monster.

Or that Willow was just using him. A stepping stone to true power. Power that the red head wanted more than anything. Power so no one could hurt her ever again.

Giles watched the boy.

He seemed to be sinking into a very dark place and there was nothing he could do about it. Faith had taken him aside this morning, telling him about what Xander had told her about the Bug Demon.

It was all very disconcerting.

He wanted to trust the young man, but about him something bothered him.

One minute he charming and friendly. Even childish, to a degree. Then next, a dark shadow would roll into his eyes and something else was looking out at you.

Something not human.

He was preparing to contact the Council. It was his duty. He couldn't find anything in his books here to help the lad. But maybe the Council could. And if they couldn't, they had the resources to take the boy out.

Looking again at the boy, then across to the other children, he didn't know what scared him worse: that he would let a child go to his death, or that he hadn't enough problem with it to stop it.

Across town.

"He's still with the slayer. Both of them," the young girl said, looking up from a bowl in front of her.

"Is he holding them?" the leader of the solders asked.

"No," the woman said looking at the bowl again, "I can see nothing that would say that. They appear to be... Bored."

Buffy popped her gum again while looking at a picture in a book. She hated this part of the gig - looking stuff up.

Just give her something to hit and she was happy. She looked at the picture again. Still not really looking at it.

A shadow moved across her looking up she saw a smiling Faith.

"Uh, Buff?" Faith asked.

"Yeah?" Buffy replied, looking up at the dark Slayer.

"You been staring hard at that picture. You got something you want to tell us?" Faith asked, smirking.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused.

"That's Ill'thid porn your reading." Faith said as she started to laugh. "Complete with pictures of their tentacles. If you know what I mean."

Buffy looked back at the picture she had been staring at. And as if by magic, it snapped into focus. She could make out what it was and where it was sliding. And she could even see the young girl's face in he illustration. And just knew it was sliding into the place it should have been going.

Giles had just time to dodge as a book came flying across the room.

"Buffy!"

Spike looked down at his love.

Dru.

She was sleeping. At peace. A smile playing on her face. He wished that she was strong enough that would allow him to act on his impulses. To fall on her and tear and drink. To bath in her blood while she was fighting him back.

But with her illness she wouldn't be able to hurt him back the way he needed it. And it was just no fun hurting her unless she could hurt him back.

With a growl, he turned and strode out of his bedroom. He didn't stop 'til he reached the main room where he had Angel chained.

Spike looked at Angel, then spat on him before flopping into a chair. He leaned back, kicking his booted feet up on to the table before him.

"How the might have fallen!"

Angel just lay there. He had tried everything he could do to try an escape but nothing worked. His only hope was that Buffy would find him.

"You know, Peaches," Spike was telling him, "if you just go willingly, I will go easy on you. After we're done, we'll just pack up and go. Leave your Slayer and her little band of merry men alone."

"Spike," Angel finally said. "You're full of shit."

"Yep," Spike replied with a easy smile. "True."

"You're just going to go after Buffy," Angel said looking up at the master vampire, "as soon as you get Dru back on her feet."

"No," Spike said looking down at the master Vampire. "I'm going after them all. Your Slayer. Her Watcher. The computer nerd. The cheerleader. All of them."

"You touch them, and I'll kill you," Angel snarled.

"You won't have to," a voice called out. Dru was standing in the doorway.

The worms in the wall had awoken her, whispering the secrets only they knew.

"The Horsemen are coming. And those that watch are following. And Spike has a choice to make. Is he going to be the hammer or the nail. Both are tools but only one is kept. The other is used and left."

And with that, the Seer turned to Angel.

"You've seen the carpenter. Would you go against him? Hmmm... Daddy?"

Then she laughed and started to dance.

The stars looked so nice this time of day.

Soon.

It would all be over soon.


	22. Chapter 22

Giles looked back in horror as the Church continued to burn. He had just gotten Buffy and Angel out and could see Cordelia and Jessie, along with Willow, had almost made it to his car.

But Faith and the boy where nowhere to be seen.

Just then another burst of gun fire from the building rang in the air.

"And the evening had started out so well," Giles said as he pushed his Slayer faster away from the burning building.

Earlier that evening.

The group stood around outside of the church, Giles having driven over in his car, bringing all of his children. As they pulled up outside of the Church, he could see Faith and Xander were already there, having arrived in their own car, after saying something about bringing tools that the boy would need.

Faith was sitting on the hood of her car as the others piled out of Giles.

"Look a Clown Car!" she called over he shoulder to Xander, who was busy suiting up.

Faith still used the standard weapons of the Slayer, stakes and swords, but he had gone the other way. He had stripped the Council's team of all their firepower before taking off to find Faith here.

He carried two silver daggers, along with a cold iron blade for any Fay they might run across, in various sheaths secured to him. Two submachine guns were hanging in shoulder rigs and a .50 calibre semiautomatic pistol rode in a holster at his hip, all with blessed rounds in the weapons.

As the Gang climbed out of Giles' Citroen, he covered them all in long coat, one with deep pockets to hold the clips for the weapons. One last minute addition were the small twin containers he hid on his back hip under the coat. While everyone could see that he had something there, the coat covered it so no one could make out exactly what they were.

"And I thought our car was bad," Xander snorted as he walked around to look at Giles' car. Faith just grinned.

To have her friend cracking jokes again was nice. He had started to brood all the time. And she so didn't want or like him to be doing that.

"Ok," Giles said as he and his group met up with the Faith and Xander. "You all know what to do?"

"About that," Xander said, looking anywhere but at them. "How 'bout letting me take on the Bug man?"

"We have a plan," Buffy replied. "Jessie and Cordelia will take him out. You will be with me and Faith."

"I know." He looked around, then back to the building. He could feel eyes on them and knew that they were being watched. "But I feel like I should be the one to take him out."

"Sorry," Buffy replied. "You're with me. Get used to it."

A short time later

Cordelia ran out of the room closely followed by Jessie.

"Glue! Glue!" the boy was calling out as he held the door closed and the worms started to seep under it.

"They're not here!" Cordial was yelling. She couldn't find the containers anywhere; it was as if the glue had just disappeared.

Just then there was a snap, followed by a whooshing sound and Xander stepped out of the shadows, his little surprise in his hands - a micro flame thrower.

The small device could only be used for short bursts and still only held about 3-4 minutes of fuel, but it would be enough for this job.

"Get out of the way, Jessie," Xander said calmly, walking toward the mass of worms.

"Sorry, Brother" Xander whispered in the old tongue. "But now, you're free."

With that, he released blast after blast of fire into the mass. Soon, the walls were burning along with worms.

Dropping the now empty weapon, he turned.

"Time to play," he told the two teens who had watched him silently, a creepy smile sliding onto his face.

He had killed his brother to free him from slavery, but that didn't mean it was an easy thing to do.

Or that he was going to let his brother's masters get away with holding a Horseman as a slave.

Faith had just been thrown into a wall by Spike, and the master vampire stood over her.

"Looks like I'm going to get another Slayer notch on my belt," he said, an evil leer on his face. "Hmmm, today is going to be a good day."

The fight was not going well.

Xander had disappeared as soon as the fighting had started, leaving both Buffy and Faith to take on the main force of Vampires without him.

Faith knew that he wouldn't run out on her. But where was he?

Just then, the main door boomed open, flame and smoke billowing in revealing a dark figure standing in the smoke. Flames and smoke trailed him as he entered the room, almost like a demon striding from the gates of Hell.

As soon as that thought ran across Faith's mind, she cut it off quickly; it just didn't go well when you tempted Fate.

Spike could make out who it was - the kid that he had seen with the Slayers earlier.

But something was off. He was humming.

Xander took in the room with a glance.

He had killed his brother.

His last brother.

He needed to make someone hurt.

As he walked in to the room, he started to hum.

Buffy looked up from Angel as the door flew open. Drusilla hung by a rope, watching the room as her strength slowly returned.

She felt a cold settle over her, and not the nice tingly one but the scarey one. Spike's choice was coming. And soon.

"Hey, girl," Xander called out to Faith as she lay on the floor. As if he had seen her like this a hundred times before.

"Hey, guy," Faith returned in kind. Spike was looking a little put out as the two started to talk like he wasn't there.

"You know, I could say a lot of things about you being on the ground in front of him like that," Xander commented, "but that would just bring back bad cheerleader issues."

"And then I would have to de-nut you," Faith replied smirking. "You know that?"

"Can't have that happen now, could we? Some lucky lady might want them to stay right there."

"Oi!" Spike snapped at them. "Evil monster working here, you know."

"Oh, sorry." Xander said. "Do go on."

As Spike snarled at the Slayer, Xander broke in.

"Just to let you know - if you hurt her, you're going to die," Xander said in a light, happy voice. "Screaming in pain."

The voice brought Spike to a stop again. It wasn't that it was threatening, or even out of the norm for a human voice.

It was just the voice had a certainty to it. A belief that what it said was the absolute truth. And was happy about it.

Spike turned to look at he boy again, a smirk forming on his face.

"And how do you plan on stopping me, whelp?"

Xander just shook his head, looking around the room. The others had stopped fighting, as well.

A presence had built up within the room. The female assassin stood off to one side, a pistol she held aimed at him. A few demons stood around, and the rest were vampires. Buffy had just gotten Angel out the door, and into the arms of Jessie. Cordelia, along with Giles, was pulling Willow away.

Only Faith, along with himself, remained in the room.

"You know, I just love a plan that comes together," Xander said, smirking down at Faith, whose eyes were widening as she saw him going for his guns.

Just as he reached them, the fake cop started to shoot, but it was already too late.

Xander had squatted down and spun, coming up with a machine pistol in each hand.

Spike dove out of the way as the firearms went off. While he knew that bullets wouldn't kill him or his kind, they did tend to sting a little, and damage your clothes. And his leather jacket meant a lot to him. It was taken from a powerful enemy.

As he crawled across the floor, he started to hear something. The sound of vampires being dusted! Glancing up, he saw that every time the boy hit one of his followers, they would dust.

"That's impossible."

Across the room, Giles closed the main door. He felt a loss, that he was leaving the boy to die along with the a Slayer, but he needed to get his kids away.

As the guns started to fire, he took one last look and the sight drove the wind out of him.

With each flash of gun fire, he could see an image momentarily superimposed over the boy. A tall hulking figure that was looking around the room smiling. Feeding off of the violence death present.

The signs were all there.

Its power was being channeled through his weapons. Soon, he wouldn't even need those - just his touch would be lethal.

Giles knew then what he would have to do. There was no other choice.

Faith was on her feet as soon as she could move, standing back to back with her friend. It still shocked her a little that Xander's guns were dusting the vampires, but if anyone could find a way to do something like that, her Xander could.

A movement caught at the corner of her eye. The female assassin was moving again this time she was aiming her pistol at Xander, who was busy firing at some vampires that were trying to get out.

She was trying to hurt her Xander, and that so wasn't going to happen. Faith reached behind her, grabbing at a dagger Xander had strapped to his thigh and pulling it from it sheath. Her arm shot out with an underhanded throw and she watched the knife fly at the woman.

As the blade hit the woman, Faith thought she might have added a little too much oomph. But then, she was trying to kill her... friend. Maybe her love.

The dagger hit the woman in the throat, driving her back. But that wasn't all it did. The blade sank into the woman 'til the guard was flush with her neck. And as that happened, the long blade exited, cutting through her spinal cord.

It was at that moment that Faith realized that she had killed a human. She had killed plenty of demons before, but this was the first time it was a human.

She had thought it might mean something. But it hadn't.

This woman was going to kill someone she cared about and then go on to kill more people.

Just like all the other things she had killed in the past. But now she wasn't going to kill anyone anymore.

In the front of the church, Spike moved again.

He stood near his love. This couldn't be happening. He had won! Angel was to die, and his Dru was coming back. He had a slayer to feed on!

And then this boy came in and took his world away.

He was the Big Bad! He took away from others! No one took from him! Not anymore!

Across from him, Dru pulled herself up. She smiled at violence. Then her eyes locked on to his.

He could almost hear her talking to him. He must choose, here and now. To live or die. To be a wolf or dog.

He remembered his un-life - being a puppet for Angel and Darla, a toy for them. It wasn't until he freed himself of them that he felt alive again.

Whole.

And that was that. He would die a wolf and not as a lap dog. He would let no one control him again.

With a snarl, he charged the boy who was turning to face him.

As Xander completed his turn, he saw Spike charging across the room.

The master vampire had made it almost all the way to him, leaping the final feet. He was snarling, rage and hate filling his yellow eyes.

He heard a bang, and then nothing.

The bleached blonde vampire's last thought was, No one controls Spike!


End file.
